Harry Potter and the Undead Alliance
by sloth
Summary: Yr 6..Harry deals with the loss of Sirius along with Ron & Hermione's relationship. There are things he can't share with his friends but help from an unexpected source puts in motion the key to Voldemort's defeat.
1. Default Chapter

It was a bright and sunny day as the solitary figure walked along the well- manicured lawns of Privet Drive. The sounds of other neighborhood children could be heard coming from the small park. Without paying attention or even looking up the lone boy continued past all of the activity and was once again greeted by the silence of a quite street. The boy walked as if he had some destination in mind but in reality was just trying to escape from the feelings he felt himself trapped within.  
  
Harry Potter had only finished his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry two days ago and already felt claustrophobic inside the home of his Aunt and Uncle. They had been treating him as he previously wished, totally ignoring anything about him and yet he still felt extremely agitated whenever he was inside. The familiarity of the surroundings gave him no room for escaping the memories of what had happened the past couple years and especially what happened just the month before. His bedroom, though much bigger than the cupboard under the stairs still felt like a cell, trapping him in the reality of what his life and future held.  
  
Stopping at the corner before proceeding further, Harry turned around and began retracing his steps knowing that the further away from #4 Privet Drive he got, the more anxious whoever happened to be watching him right now would become. It didn't even matter to him anymore that someone was constantly watching his every move. "They have to protect their weapon," he coldly thought to himself. Harry often wondered just how much the members of the Order knew about the prophecy and why so much effort was being spent in keeping Harry safe. "Knowing Dumbledore they don't know much," Harry thought to himself. His anger at the Headmaster had receded since the morning Harry trashed the old wizard's office but he wasn't completely over having so much information kept from him for so long.  
  
Harry sat on a bench at the edge of the small park and watched all the activity going on. Watching everyone enjoying the beautiful weather made him think back to the last time he actually had any fun. "Last year wasn't any fun," he thought to himself. "The Tri-Wizard Tournament was the year before that and with all the training and fighting with Ron, that wasn't very fun either." Harry rubbed his temples and realized when it was. "It was the Burrow before fourth year. Watching the Quidditch Cup with the Weasley's and Hermione was the last time I really had fun." This fact suddenly made Harry feel very old. "Since then I've faced a dragon, Merepeople, a giant spider, death eaters and Voldemort twice. And watched two people die," he sadly thought as he dropped his head into his hands.  
  
The pain the last two years had caused him was weighing heavily on his mind as he thought to the words he had yelled at Professor Dumbledore, "I've seen enough. I want out." Harry paused and focused on those words. "Do I though?" Harry thought. "If I didn't know what was coming then maybe that would have been better. But now I know what's going to happen to everyone if I run away." This realization was the only thing that kept Harry from going deep into a state of depression. As much as he missed his godfather and thought that his life had been just too much for him, he couldn't imagine doing anything that would guarantee the people he cared for would be forced to live in a much worse world. "Maybe I do have a 'saving people' thing," he thought, "but I can't just let this happen. I have to try." This thought kept the fire in his soul burning even though the loss of Sirius had nearly put it out.  
  
Focusing back onto the park grounds, Harry was surprised that it was beginning to get dark as he had no clue how long he had been sitting there. He rose from the bench and made his way directly back to the Dursley's where he hoped he hadn't missed supper. Petunia grudgingly made enough food for him but didn't hesitate to throw it out if Harry missed normal meal times. Upon entering the back door, Harry saw that the dishes sitting in the tray next to the sink had clearly been washed and knew he would find no leftovers so he quietly headed to his room, ignoring the evil smirks from his Aunt and Uncle.  
  
Opening his bedroom door, Harry was startled to see someone sitting at his desk, thumbing through the Defense books that Sirius and Lupin had given him for Christmas. "Professor!" Harry exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"  
  
Professor Dumbledore held up his hands and smiled warmly as he said, "Nothing wrong at all Harry. I just wanted to speak to you and didn't realize you would be out for so long."  
  
"I'm sorry, did you wait long?" Harry asked.  
  
"It was no bother," Dumbledore said glancing back at the worn edges of the book. "I take it you've been getting use from the books. Very wise." The Headmaster looked intently at Harry but Harry didn't know what to say. Just as Professor Dumbledore started to speak, Harry's stomach gave a large growl.  
  
"Sorry Professor, I missed supper again," Harry said feeling embarrassed.  
  
Dumbledore smiled and said, "I understand Harry. It often happens to me. However since I am not underage I can alleviate that particular problem." With a quick wave of his wand, a tray of sandwiches and some juice appeared on Harry's table. "We can eat while we talk," Dumbledore said motioning Harry to the food.  
  
After a couple moments of silence where Harry ate quickly, Dumbledore said, "Well I imagine you're wondering what brought me here today." Harry nodded but didn't say anything. "I think we need to take advantage of Voldemort's brief period of disorganization and resume your Occlumency training," the Headmaster said and saw the look of horror on Harry's face.  
  
"But sir," Harry said but was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore saying, "Professor Snape won't be involved at this time." Harry's expression softened and he thought he saw a slight smile on Dumbledore's face as the old wizard continued, "I told you that I had made many mistakes last year and I do not intend to repeat any of them. I brought you a book on Occlumency that will give you background and some useful techniques on understanding your own mind and recognizing when it is being manipulated. I'd like for you to read this book and then I will return to give you some formal training."  
  
"But what if Voldemort tries to make me do something. You know how it was when we were close last year," Harry said worried about the training.  
  
"I do not believe Voldemort will be anxious to attempt to possess you again Harry. You caused him great pain when he did it before and I think we have a window of opportunity that will allow us to complete your training. However, until you master Occlumency, I cannot reveal many details of what the Order is doing. I hope you understand," Dumbledore said with a concerned look on his aged face.  
  
"I understand sir," Harry said. "I don't want him to learn anything useful from me either." Harry looked down for a second and then softly said, "I'm really sorry about the way I acted in your office. If there is any way I can replace any of the items, I'd like to do that."  
  
Dumbledore's eyes definitely twinkled as he replied, "Thank you for the offer but most have already been repaired. I am fortunate that Professor Flitwick has a passion for magical instruments and is quite adept at repairing them. They should all be as good as new before you return to school. Also, I do not harbor any ill feelings about your actions that morning. I feel fortunate the only things harmed were a few items that I held no strong personal attachments to. I will attempt never to cause you reason to feel that way again."  
  
"Thank you sir. I feel horrible about it," Harry said even though he felt better after Dumbledore's comments.  
  
"It gives the portraits something to talk about," Dumbledore said with a large smile. "Now, I would like to ask you a personal favor." Harry looked up anxious to hear what the Headmaster had to ask. "I'd like for you to make every effort to talk to Remus Lupin when you see him," Dumbledore said and Harry felt an instant pang of sorrow. He knew that Lupin had to be feeling even worse than he was and the thought of facing his godfather's best friend after he, Harry had been responsible for Sirius' death was not something he was looking forward to. Displaying his uncanny ability to know what Harry was thinking, Dumbledore said, "He does not blame you Harry. And surprisingly he does not blame me either. However he is grieving and isn't sure how to act around you."  
  
This comment surprised Harry. "He must blame me if he doesn't know how to act around me," Harry quickly said.  
  
"I assure you he does not blame you Harry," Dumbledore replied. "He is worried about how to treat you now. He wants to fill Sirius' role but knows he can't replace Sirius and is worried that you will think he's trying to do that. So as a favor to me, talk to him and know that he wants to have a closer relationship with you and it's not just because Sirius is gone. He always thought that would come once you were out of school and the three of you could spend more time together."  
  
Harry wasn't sure if he totally believed the Headmaster or not but said, "I want to know him better as well." Harry thought for a moment and said, "Is there any way to clear Sirius' name? I can't stand that he's gone and everyone still thinks he was a murderer."  
  
"Well," Dumbledore said, "the Ministry is being very accommodating to my requests right now and Remus and I are already considering that very thing. However there is a complication." Harry looked confused so Dumbledore continued, "Your status in the Wizarding World is an issue. You are still a minor and since your relatives aren't suitable to represent your interests in our world you still need a guardian." Harry started to suggest Lupin but Dumbledore said, "The Ministry is not totally accommodating to me and would still forbid a werewolf from being your full- time legal guardian. However, we are trying to find some compromise where someone else would be your legal representative."  
  
Harry tried to think of someone else and the first person that came to his mind was Mrs. Weasley. Harry wasn't exactly sure how he felt about this. He knew that Mrs. Weasley did love him like her own son and would treat him great but he also knew that she would baby him and keep him out of things. This was the last thing he wanted right now. He was brought out of his thoughts by Dumbledore asking, "I assume you're thinking about Molly Weasley?" The expression on Harry's face must have confirmed this because Dumbledore continued, "That is an option. I'm very sure Molly would be ecstatic to be your guardian. But you seem to have reservations."  
  
"I know she cares about me, but I've been through too much to be babied and know that's what she'd do. I want to start doing more and with the prophecy and everything, I can't have her stopping me from being involved," Harry said pleadingly.  
  
"I assumed you would feel that way so I haven't even mentioned this to her," Dumbledore said. "Let us think a bit more before we make a decision. I think Remus will be the next one to visit you. Remember you both are grieving and I think it will help you to spend time together." Dumbledore stood, looked intently at Harry and said, "I wish things were different Harry but I am confident that you will do the right things. If this has to fall on someone other than me, it makes me sleep better knowing that it is someone with your fortitude."  
  
Harry didn't know how to respond so he simple said, "I wish I could feel that way."  
  
"We'll be there with you Harry. See you soon," Dumbledore said just before he vanished.  
  
Harry looked at the Occlumency book that his headmaster had left for him and felt the pangs of guilt at his refusal to seriously try to learn the mind blocking art last year. "If I had really tried to learn it, Sirius would still be alive," he thought as he lay flat on his bed. Guilt... That along with anger and loneliness were the only emotions Harry had been capable of feeling the past month. "If they would have told me what was going on I would have tried harder to learn," he angrily thought. As much as he tried to push off some of the blame, it wasn't enough to lighten the amount he placed on himself.  
  
As usual, Harry ran the vision of Sirius falling through the veil through his head. He felt a gnawing in his stomach at not understanding what had actually happened to his Godfather. "Professor Lupin and Dumbledore both said he was dead," Harry thought. The fact that he wasn't positive what really happened made the guilt seem even worse. If he could have had some closure with Sirius he knew it would help. Rubbing his aching head Harry thought, "That's one thing I'll never have." Harry finally drifted off to another night of restless sleep.  
  
Harry was outside weeding the garden the next day for something to do when his snowy owl floated in and landed next to him. "Hedwig," Harry said. "I didn't know you were out. Where have you been this early girl?" As Harry was softly stroking the owl he noticed the parchment attached to her leg. "What have you got there?" Harry asked as he untied the note.  
  
**Harry  
  
Sometimes I'm seriously amazed at Hedwig. I had just sent Pigwidgeon  
back to Ron with a note to pass on some information to you and wished I  
could have sent one directly to you when she flew in my window. If you'd  
write first I would be able to send you notes. (just a thought).  
  
My parents are taking me on a trip this summer. I didn't get to spend  
much time with them last summer or during the holidays and with  
everything happening, they want us to spend some quiet time together. I  
really hate not being able to see you or Ron but do want to be close to  
my parents right now.**  
  
"Yeah since I almost got you killed last year," Harry thought with a grimace.  
  
**Professor Dumbledore thinks it will be safe for us to go somewhere as  
long as we keep it a secret. He says Voldemort is in disarray right now  
since so many of his top people were captured.  
  
I do hope you're doing ok Harry. I imagine you're blaming yourself for  
everything. Please don't do that Harry; it will only make things worse.  
All of this is Voldemort's fault, not yours. I really think you should  
talk to someone. I'm sure Professor Lupin would be willing.  
**  
"What does she know about this?" Harry exclaimed. "She has no clue about how I'm feeling."  
  
**I know you're probably getting irritated at me for telling you how to  
feel but you're my best friend and I know how you are. I get the feeling  
that something else is going on because Professor Dumbledore seemed very  
concerned about you. He said something about "failing you when you  
needed him" but I don't know what he's talking about. Do you? You know  
that you can tell me anything don't you?  
  
Well my parent's are ready to leave so I need to end this. Ron will  
probably tell you that I've gone on holiday since I asked him to pass the  
information to you but I'm glad Hedwig came so I could send this myself.  
  
Be safe Harry and try to not blame yourself.  
  
Love from  
  
Hermione  
**  
"It's good she's going," Harry thought that she shouldn't be so involved and envied her for having loving parents that wanted to spend time with her. He felt no jealousy that she was going off to have fun, it actually made him feel much better knowing that she was with people she loved.  
  
Harry turned to Hedwig, studied her large brown eyes for a moment and said, "She's right you know. You are pretty amazing." The owl hooted almost in acknowledgement and flew up to Harry's window.  
  
While inside getting a sandwich Harry's large uncle stalked up to him. "Since you started I hope you don't think you're finished out there," Vernon bellowed. "I know your kind don't care about attention to detail but I can't have our garden looking so shabby."  
  
"I'm know I'm not finished Uncle," Harry said using every ounce of control not to yell at his uncle.  
  
"Too right you're not," Vernon exclaimed. "You should be doing a few more chores this year as well. With all you're eating you need to be pulling more of your weight."  
  
Harry breathed deeply and said, "Yes Uncle Vernon."  
  
"Come out here and let me show you what needs to be re-done," Vernon said walking out the door. Harry quickly followed and acted like he was listening as his uncle pointed out areas that Harry hadn't got to yet and loudly criticized his work so that any neighbor could hear. Just then a small furry object zoomed in and darted around the yard causing Vernon to nearly fall over the bag of weeds. "It's one of those bloody owls!" he bellowed.  
  
Harry quickly grabbed Ron's owl and said, "I've got him now uncle."  
  
"You tell those freaks not to send those creatures to my house. We only let you keep your bird here out of the kindness of our hearts," his uncle said still quite red in the face.  
  
Harry was just about to his limit and coldly said, "Would you rather me tell them to just come over when they want something? They could easily do that you know."  
  
Vernon's eyes got wide but then quickly turned evil as he said, "You'll do no such thing boy. I'll have none of your kind in my house. No owls, no visits. Got it?" Harry didn't reply and just stared back at his uncle. After a few moments of silence the portly man stormed back into the kitchen leaving Harry angrily squeezing the small owl a little more than he should be. The small bird's eyes were bulging and it looked ready to pass out.  
  
"Sorry pig," Harry said as he released the pressure on the little owl. Harry took the note and dug into his pocket for a small treat that he had taken to carrying around to make sure he always had something for Hedwig. "You can go up and rest if you want. I'll let Hedwig take a note back," Harry softly said to the small owl who erratically flew up to his window.  
  
**Harry  
  
Hermione's gone off on holiday! Can you believe it? How can she leave  
at a time like this? Don't you think it's a bit dangerous? How can we  
protect her if she's off with Muggles?  
**  
Harry laughed at his friend's concern for Hermione. "When will he just tell her he likes her?" Harry chuckled.  
  
**Her and mum are all in a state worrying about you. I keep telling them  
that you'll be fine but that just gets me in trouble. All they say is  
"You don't know anything Ronald!" Bloody women... Listen, I know you'll be  
fine but if you do need anything, you'll let me know, right?  
  
Don't know when we can get you out of there. Mum says Dumbledore's  
acting a bit queer and isn't going to take any chances. You've always  
been safe here. It's with those Muggles where you have the problems.  
We've never had Dementors at the Burrow!  
  
I heard mum and dad talking about Lupin and Snape going off on each  
other. I guess Lupin said there was no way he was letting Snape give you  
private lessons again. Dad said he had never seen Lupin look so scary  
before.  
  
Write if you need anything. I'm going to ask mum if there's a way we can  
check up on Hermione. I still can't believe she left us like that.  
  
Ron  
**  
Harry smiled at most of the note. The only part that made him think was Lupin being angry at Snape. Lupin had always been a very calm and collected person. This actually made Harry slightly happy because Snape was near the top of the list of people that Harry disliked. He couldn't understand how Professor Dumbledore could trust the Potions Master and Harry himself knew that he would never trust the man.  
  
After finishing that day's weeding, Harry grabbed something to eat and made his way back to his room. While he was eating, he continued reading the Occlumency book and after seeing various techniques used to clear the mind he felt like he could actually understand what to do. "If Snape had just explained it like this, I'd be able to do this by now. He didn't even try to teach me," Harry angrily though. He instantly felt the change in his mood and knew from what he had read already that this was a major obstacle to becoming proficient in Occlumency. That had been another big reason he couldn't make any progress around Snape, he always let his anger bubble up and cloud his mind. Focusing on one of the techniques, he pushed the negative thoughts of the Potions Professor out of his mind and felt his breathing and mood both improve.  
  
Harry spent every free moment over the next two days pouring over the Occlumency book that the Headmaster had given him. When the theoretical part of the book got too much for him he picked up one of the defense books and read that. He had a much better grasp of defense techniques than he did Occlumency. The only breaks Harry took in this schedule was for his daily walks around the neighborhood where he still tried to come to terms with what had actually happened to Sirius. When got back home and returned to his room, sandwich in hand he was greeted by a very weary looking wizard looking through his photo album.  
  
"Professor Lupin!" Harry exclaimed as soon as he shut the door. Looking closer at his former professor Harry wondered how much sleep the man had been getting. He knew it wasn't close to the full moon so couldn't think any of the weariness was related to being a werewolf.  
  
"Hello Harry," Lupin replied with a smile that Harry couldn't quite figure out. "How are you doing?"  
  
Harry shrugged and while looking down at his feet said, "Fine". Harry really didn't want to complain about anything to the man who had just lost his best friend.  
  
"Somehow I doubt that," Lupin softly said. "I can't say that I'm fine yet. But it is getting a little better."  
  
Harry shifted uncomfortable and said, "I'm sorry."  
  
Lupin put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "Nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault." Harry started to interrupt but Lupin quickly continued in a firm voice, "It's not and I don't want you to think that. This is war Harry. Voldemort will do anything to get to us and wizards older and more experienced have been trapped by much simpler means. You did what you thought was right and risked everything for Sirius, just as he would have done for you. I wish I could say that things will get easier..." Lupin hesitated and seemed to think about his words. "We're going to do what we can to win this war Harry because if we don't this won't be a world where we would want to be in. I'm sorry you've been through so much and hope we can keep you out of much of it..."  
  
At this Harry interrupted, "Do you even know why Voldemort wants me so bad? Did Dumbledore tell you why I'm being guarded so much?"  
  
Lupin studied Harry's face and said, "He's only told us that it is imperative you be protected and that Voldemort will stop at nothing to get to you. That's enough for me. I trust the Headmaster completely."  
  
Harry's anger was building a bit as he said, "He's not perfect you know! He makes mistakes too!"  
  
Lupin seemed taken aback by Harry's firm voice but quickly recovered and said, "No one is perfect but I trust him to do the best thing for all of us." There was a pause before the older wizard continued, "He mentioned something happening in his office and that he is concerned you won't trust him as much."  
  
Even though Harry felt ashamed of his actions in the Headmaster's office he didn't feel the same amount of blind trust in the man. "I'm not going to do things just because people tell me too anymore. I want to know why. I know Dumbledore's going to do what he thinks is right but he just can't keep so much from me anymore." Harry looked hard at Lupin and added, "Ask him why I'm important. Tell him that if he doesn't tell you than I will."  
  
Lupin looked at Harry and actually gave a slight smile that, to Harry seemed very genuine. "You get that from your mother you know," he said. Harry must have looked confused because Remus continued, "She was the stubborn one. When she made her mind up about something, there wasn't room for negotiation."  
  
After a moment of silence Harry softly said, "I really miss him."  
  
Lupin put his hand back on Harry's shoulder and said, "Me too Harry, me too." After a pause he added, "It's just you and me now and I know I can't replace Sirius but I'd like us to get closer."  
  
Harry didn't hesitate to reply, "I'd like that as well. Just don't go dying on me."  
  
"I don't plan on it Harry. We'll get through this, trust me."  
  
"I do trust you Professor, I really do," Harry added.  
  
"Well you have to stop calling me Professor. I'll come back in a couple days with some more reading material," the wizard said as he brushed his hand over the cover of the well-worn book he and Sirius had given Harry at Christmas. "See you soon Harry."  
  
"Thanks Profe...Remus," Harry replied thinking it was going to be hard to get used to calling him that. After his former professor had left, Harry picked up the Occlumency book and lay back on his bed feeling not quite so alone anymore.  
  
It was the next night and Harry made it home early since he expected the Headmaster to arrive for his first formal Occlumency lesson. Harry had read and re-read the first few chapters on techniques for understanding your own mind. It wasn't so much about "clearing your mind" as it was about understanding why you were thinking about certain things. The book pointed out things that Harry instantly recognized from the times he was having visions of the Department of Ministries. Harry quickly entered his room looking forward to the lesson but was greeted by an extremely anxious Professor Lupin.  
  
"Pro...Remus!" Harry exclaimed. "I thought I had Occlumency lessons." 


	2. Off to do some shopping

Lupin didn't respond right away, as he continued to pace obviously annoyed.  "He told me what the prophecy said.  Well not exactly what it said but the main parts.  He said that only you and he know the exact wording right now and that if it got out others could be in danger as well.  He shouldn't have kept this from me…or Sirius!"

Harry shifted a bit under the questioning gaze of his former teacher. Harry agreed with the Headmaster that parts of the wording of the prophecy shouldn't be known.  It would put Neville Longbottom in danger and would also allow Voldemort to know that only Harry could kill him.  This would allow him to take many more chances without fear of dying.

"Do you believe it?" Harry sheepishly asked, afraid of the answer.

Lupin sighed heavily and said, "Yes."  Just that one word seemed to take quite a bit out of the man.  "I told Dumbledore to stay away tonight.  I wasn't willing to wait to talk to you about this."

Harry was impressed that Lupin would tell Dumbledore what to do like that.  "I should have been told!  I don't know when but should have known."  Harry's brief flare of anger quickly faded and he sank onto his bed and asked, "How can I do it?  I don't have a chance."

Lupin felt the despair in Harry's voice and realized that even though he, Lupin had lost his best and last true friend Harry had to deal with the loss of his Godfather and the burden of the prophecy.  Lupin sat next to Harry and said, "The prophecy says you'll have powers he knows not.  We don't know what that is yet but we'll figure it out."  Lupin's voice was firm giving Harry a slight bit of relief.  "Dumbledore has confidence in you Harry, he really does." 

That surprised Harry but he only replied with, "Yeah well he's been wrong before.  He probably had confidence in the fake Moody."

Lupin actually chuckled a bit and said, "I suppose that's true but I have confidence in you.  We'll figure out what the power is."

"I just can't see how it can be me.  I mean Dumbledore's the only one Voldemort's ever been afraid of and I have to be the one to kill him.  It just can't be right," Harry exclaimed.

"Harry," Lupin firmly said, "Don't dwell on it right now.  It doesn't have to be tomorrow."  After a moment he added, "Thank you for letting me know this.  I told Dumbledore he should tell the rest of the Order so they can understand better but he's not sure."

"Yeah, he likes to keep things to himself," Harry added coldly.

"He has his reasons but in this case I'd like to know them myself," Lupin added and then produced a book from within his robes.  "Here," he said handing the old, worn book to Harry.  "These are pretty advanced but if anyone has incentive to master them it should be you."

Harry looked at the book titled "Shields and Protection Spells.  Stopping the Worst." 

"Some are beyond what you'd learn in basic Auror training," Lupin said causing Harry to look at him strangely.  "I know people," Lupin said with a sly grin and then added, "And no, Dumbledore doesn't know."

"Thanks!" Harry said stroking the book.  "I'll read it."

"Occlumency first.  This second," Lupin said.  Harry nodded and Lupin stood up.  "I need to go Harry but if you ever need to talk, just contact me.  Don't dwell on the prophecy.  Let's deal with one problem at a time.  Keep Voldemort out of your head and stay safe until the time is right."

"Thanks Remus.  For everything," Harry said with genuine gratitude.

After Lupin left Harry dove into the book of shields and quickly realized they were much more advanced than the simple shield spell he knew.  After a couple of hours Harry longed to be back at Hogwarts so he could try out some of the new spells.  They wouldn't do him much good without practice.  It took almost all of his self control not to just go ahead and practice them right here not caring what the Ministry thought but he didn't want to give Remus and Professor Dumbledore any more trouble than he already had.

The next evening it was Professor Dumbledore who greeted him when he returned to his room after the walk.  "Hello Harry," Dumbledore said studying him intently.

"Hello Professor.  I've read most of the book and it makes more sense now," Harry said.

"That's good Harry but how do you feel about other things?"  The old wizard gazed at him giving Harry the feeling the man could tell everything he was thinking.  Harry was just about to act like he didn't know what Dumbledore was talking about but the Headmaster said, "Your talk with Remus Harry.  How do you feel about him knowing?"

"It was good to have someone to talk to about it," Harry said and almost saw the Headmaster flinch.  Harry didn't know why but he didn't want to talk to the man about the prophecy.  Probably because he would end up with more questions than answers he thought to himself. 

"I expected you to feel that way.  You can understand what difficulties could come from Voldemort knowing this information," Dumbledore said.  "Now onto preventing him from finding out anything from you," he added snapping Harry back to the task at hand.

Harry tried to prepare his mind like the book said to do and then nodded to the Headmaster who didn't seem to make a move at all.  Harry quickly felt peaceful and content as he watched a vision of his first ride on the Hogwart's express swirl in his mind.  Soon though he was reliving the final minutes of the incident at the Ministry of Magic.  He had just told Bellatrix Lestrang that the prophecy orb had been smashed and that her master wouldn't be happy when he looked up and saw Voldemort standing above him with this wand tip already glowing green.  Harry relived the emotions he felt at that exact moment.  After watching Sirius fall through the veil he wanted revenge but now that Voldemort was ready to curse him, he just wanted it to end.  Harry felt himself almost begging Voldemort to say the curse so his grief could end.  Right after that rush of emotion Harry was suddenly aware of his surroundings again and found himself looking at the face of his Headmaster looking older and hopeless than Harry could have ever imagined.

Harry felt terrible about reliving that but was most concerned about the look on Professor Dumbledore's face.  The two were silent for a moment and then the Headmaster softly said, "Was that really what you wanted?"

Harry hung his head and nodded.

Dumbledore sighed and asked, "And now?  How do you feel now?"

Harry kept his head down but knew how he felt.  This had been haunting him since that night so he looked up at Dumbledore and said, "Ashamed.  I'd never given up before and I was just going to let him kill me."  Harry paused for a minute and then said, "I never want to feel like that again.  My parents; Sirius wouldn't want it to end like that."

Those words lifted the spirits of the old wizard who had been concerned that Harry would rather give up than fight.  Before he could say anything, a firm voice came from Harry, "And now that I know about the prophecy, there's nothing I won't do to beat him.  I can't let everyone down."

Harry saw the bright twinkle return to Dumbledore's eyes and that send a surge of warmth through his body.  "Well then I don't think we need to discuss it anymore.  However you didn't recognize my intrusion."

"It was totally different than the way Snape did it to me," Harry admitted.

"Professor Snape, Harry.  And I can imagine it would be.  Remember to focus your mind and then you should realize when that focus has changed.  Let's try again shall we?"  The two worked for well over an hour and by the end Harry could at least tell when his thoughts were being directed but hadn't been able to shut off his mind without trying to use magic.  Harry didn't have his wand but Dumbledore would stop whenever Harry's arm rose in a casting motion.  "Not bad Harry," Dumbledore said but this didn't help Harry's opinion of his performance much.  "I'll return in a couple days to continue.  Re-read the sections of the book on shutting off your thoughts before then."

"Thank you Professor," Harry said before the man vanished.  Harry grabbed the Occlumency book but before reading it he replayed Voldemort standing over him and thought, "Never again."

The next couple weeks passed surprisingly quickly for Harry.  He never had to send Hedwig off to the Order because between Dumbledore coming to teach him Occlumency and Professor Lupin coming over to just talk, Harry never went three days without seeing someone from the Order.  Occlumency was becoming relatively easy for Harry and he had renewed his guilt over his failure to learn it when Professor Snape tried to teach him.  However Dumbledore's techniques were nothing like the way Snape had tried to teach Harry so he doubted he would have learned from the Potion's master.

Harry still had fits of deep depression where he would do nothing but stare off into the distance and wish Sirius were around so he could have someone to talk to.  He knew Remus Lupin would talk if he wanted but Harry didn't feel the same connection yet to the man.  Harry also wasn't sure about visiting the Burrow.  He was dreading the constant activity and how he would be fretted over by Mrs. Weasley.  There was a longing that things could go back to how they were a couple years ago when he couldn't wait to go stay with his best friend and their family.  Now Harry got the most comfort being alone and trying to figure out how his future would play out. 

"I think we can get you out of here after your birthday," Lupin said during his next visit, hoping that news would lift Harry's spirits.  The look on Harry's face didn't quite meet his expectations and when Harry didn't say anything he continued, "You do want to leave here don't you?"

"Yeah…I mean I guess so," Harry mumbled.  "I just hate the thought of returning to Grimmauld Place," he added with a sigh.

"You won't have to go there this summer," Lupin said causing Harry to quickly look at him.  "We've had people putting charms around the Burrow for a month now and it should be well protected before long."  The man saw the look on Harry's face and added, "This helps the Weasley's as well Harry.  Even if you're not there the charms will provide extra protection for them.  With so many members of their family in the Order, they are at risk all the time."

Harry flinched but agreed with Lupin and was glad the Burrow was getting more protection.  "That's good then," Harry said.  "I just don't feel like being fussed over and if I go there for my birthday it will be this big affair."

After a moment of silence Lupin replied, "It's your choice.  I'm not going to try to make you do anything you don't want to but I think it would be good to be around your friends."  Harry couldn't decide but knew that if he did go to the Burrow he wouldn't find much peace and quiet.  "I'll mention this to Dumbledore tonight," Lupin said before studying Harry for a moment.  The man seemed hesitant so say something but then added, "I think we should go shopping for some new clothes.  You're getting too old to wear your cousin's hand-me-downs."

Harry felt slightly ashamed.  He knew that Dudley's clothes didn't fit well but he never thought much about it.  "That sounds ok," Harry said and could tell Lupin relaxed a bit.  "Probably expected me to explode," Harry thought to himself.

"Ok, I'll come over the day before your birthday to let you know about the plans for the rest of your summer and we'll get your shopping done," Lupin announced before vanishing.

Harry dropped onto his bed with the shields book just as a small hyper owl fluttered into the room.  "C'mere pig!" Harry exclaimed as he grabbed for the creature.  After removing the notes.  "Rest a bit pig, maybe I'll have something for you to take back," Harry said as the owl fluttered up to Hedwig's cage.  Harry was glad Hedwig was out hunting because she didn't like sharing her cage with the little owl.

**_Harry_**

****

**_Have you heard anything from Hermione?  I thought she may write you the Muggle way since they probably don't know where the Burrow is._**

****

**_Dumbledore would have said if something had happened to her don't you think?_**

It amused Harry by how worried Ron was for Hermione's safety.  He knew Ron fancied her but wasn't as sure about how Hermione felt about Ron.

**_Mom's going spare trying to get you out of there._**

Now Harry felt a pang of guilt at telling Lupin he didn't want to go there yet.

**_She owls Dumbledore every couple days and I think she's about ready to send him a Howler.  Don't give up hope, she's working on it.  _**

****

**_People have been all over this place.  Bill says it'll almost be as safe as Grimmauld Place before long.  We still can't be involved with business but there's usually enough around to play Quidditch.  Oh yeah, Dumbledore dropped your Firebolt off so it's here waiting for you.  I'm sure your ban will be lifted and you'll be back on the team.  Ginny really wants to be chaser so everything works out._**

****

**_Speaking of Ginny, she threatened me until I agreed to let Pig bring her note as well.  Don't know what she wants but if she says anything about me acting weird, don't believe her.  She's mental._**

****

**_See you soon_**

****

**_Ron_**

Ron's notes always lifted Harry's spirits, especially his worry about their other best friend.  Right now Harry was happy just receiving notes from his friend.  This way he could read them at his leisure and still have time alone.  An angry sound from the window snapped Harry out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Hedwig, carrying a small mouse fly to her cage and quickly push the smaller owl off to one side.

"Hey girl be nice," Harry said and then turned his attention to the second note.  Ginny had never written him before so he wondered what she would say.

**_Harry_**

****

**_I hope you don't mind me writing.  Can't believe I've never written before.  Mum's really worried but I keep telling her you'll be ok.  You will won't you?_**

****

**_I know my brother is an insensitive wart and with Hermione off this summer I just wanted you to know that you can talk to me if you want.  You'd probably rather talk to Hermione but I promise not to say anything to anyone else if you do decide to talk to me.  I'm worried about you as well but am trying to be strong for Mum._**

****

**_Enough of that.  You should see how Ron goes on about Hermione.  He mentions her ten times a day!  Really, could he be any more obvious?  You do realize he likes her don't you?_**

****

**_I'll end now since Ron's trying his best to see what I'm writing.  Don't tell him, ok.  Make him wonder for a while.  _**

****

**_It'll be ok Harry, you'll always have us._**

****

**_Ginny_**

Her letter comforted Harry quite a bit.  He realized last summer that Ginny was stronger than he had realized and she always surprised him.  If he was willing to talk to any of them, he wouldn't mind talking to her but he really didn't want to let any of them know everything that was going on.  Hearing Hedwig's annoyed sounds caused him to quickly grab some parchment and quill as he crafted a response.

**_Ginny_**

****

**_Thanks for writing.  I can't believe that was the first time either._**

****

**_Tell your mom I'm fine and she shouldn't worry.  Neither should you but I'm glad you're being strong for your mom as she has enough to worry about without me adding any more._**

****

**_I can honestly say that if I wanted to talk about things I would talk to you and may take you up on that sometime, even when Hermione gets back.  You helped me feel better last year._**

****

**_Ron won't find out anything about your note from me.  Maybe it'll take his mind off of Hermione for a while.  And yes, I did realize Ron fancies Hermione._**

****

**_I'm sure I'll see you later this summer._**

****

**_Harry_**

Harry suffered through another night of dreams about Sirius falling through the veil.  The next dream always showed his Godfather begging Harry to come help him.  When Harry awoke from the dreams he found himself wishing for dreams about Death Eaters and Voldemort; anything to keep him from feeling even guiltier about losing Sirius.

The day before his birthday Harry was surprised to find not only Remus Lupin but also Nymphadora Tonks in the his bedroom after he finished his chores.  "Wotcher Harry!" Tonks exclaimed in her ever-cheerful voice.  For the metamorphagus she looked pretty conservative.  Her hair was platinum blonde but other than that she didn't look out of place.

"Hi Tonks," Harry replied.  Turning to give a confused look to Remus Lupin he added, "What are you both doing here?"

Before Lupin could answer Tonks spoke up, "Going shopping of course."  The girl gave Harry an appraising look and with a grimace added, "How can you stand to wear that lard's old clothes?  We've got to take care of that."

Harry didn't feel offended by this but Lupin wasn't sure how Harry would take it so he added, "As you can tell, I don't have good fashion taste so I asked Tonks if she wouldn't mind lending her expertise."

"And I never pass up an opportunity to go shopping," she said with a laugh.  "Besides it gave me an excuse to come see how you were doing for myself.  It's not that I don't believe what Remus and Dumbledore say but they are men after all and don't always pick up on things."

Remus rolled his eyes but Harry kind of agreed.  As much as he liked spending time with Lupin and Dumbledore, sometimes he missed having a woman around to talk to.  "I'm glad you came Tonks," Harry said trying to sound upbeat.  Harry knew from Lupin that he didn't look like he was doing very well, even on days where he didn't feel so depressed about his life.  "So where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Madame Malkin's has Muggle clothes as well.  We should be able to get everything at her shop," Tonks said looking like she was thinking.  "You're going to need a couple new robes and definitely a new set of dress robes."

"Dress robes?" Harry questioned.  "Don't tell me there's another ball."

Lupin laughed and said, "Not that I know of."

"But," Tonks interjected, "every young wizard needs a nice set of dress robes for those special dates."

"I doubt I'll need to worry about that," Harry said glumly thinking that if Ron got up the nerve then his two best friends would be going on dates without him.

"You're quite the celebrity again Harry," Tonks said.  "The Ministry and in turn the Prophet can't say enough good things about you.  You're in almost every issue."

Harry groaned but Tonks continued, "You'll have your choice of witches, that's for sure."

"Yeah well I've got other priorities don't you think?" Harry said in a slightly evil voice looking at Remus Lupin.

Lupin stumbled with the words for a second and Tonks could tell the two men knew something she didn't but Remus finally said, "I'm sure James and Sirius would want you to give enough priority to the girls as well."

"What could a sixteen year old wizard think is a higher priority than finding a nice witch?" Tonks asked looking shocked.  When Harry didn't answer she almost apologized and said, "You're not…I mean… You do like witches don't you?"

"What!" Both Harry and Remus said at the same time.  "Of course I like witches!" Harry added hotly.

Tonks let out a long sigh and said, "Thank Merlin.  Not that there would be anything wrong if you didn't but do you have any idea how many witches' hearts you would break if they found out that you…you know…would rather play with brooms?"

Lupin snorted with laughter and Harry also found the statement amusing but was still touchy about her even considering the possibility.  Firmly, Harry said, "I like witches.  I really like them.  It's just that I'm going to have to deal with Voldemort before I can think about anything else."

"Harry," Lupin warned since Tonks didn't know about the prophecy.  She seemed to catch something was going on between the two men so Lupin continued, "What do you say we just get on with the shopping?"

The three walked down the stairs only to be greeted by the annoying voice of Petunia Dursley, "Where do you think you're going?  I can't have the neighbors seeing your kind leaving my house."

Tonks who had heard more stories of Harry's time with the Dursleys wasn't quite as accommodating to them anymore, so she coldly said, "What you want doesn't matter to me at all Dursley."  Harry was actually taken aback at how threatening Tonks sounded.  "I almost hope I hear that you've been horrible to Harry so I can show you what I really think about you," she added.

Lupin seemed surprised as well but said, "We'll slip out the back Petunia.  We're going to London to get Harry some new clothes.  He won't be out late."

Petunia seemed too afraid to say anything but Harry kind of felt bad for her and said, "They'll carry their robes Aunt Petunia.  I'll make sure they look normal."  Quickly Harry pushed Tonks toward the back door.

Once outside the girl said, "Oooh, I hate those people.  Why you have to stay here is beyond me.  I mean there's always someone at headquarters and you'd be treated better there."

Once again, Harry felt extreme gratitude to her but said, "It's been ok Tonks.  Way better since you talked to them.  Besides, I'll be back at school in a month."

"We'll get you to the Burrow for the last two weeks," Lupin said watching Harry to see his reaction.  Harry nodded at the man to show that was fine with him.

The trio quickly made it to Mrs. Figg's house and floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron.  Lupin who had gone first was waiting for Harry when he arrived with a thud.  Almost immediately elderly witches and wizards were coming up greeting Harry.  It was worse than the first time he had come with Hagrid.  Tonks, who had now arrived said, "Told you."

"Afternoon Mr. Potter," the man behind the bar said.  "Anything I can get for you and your friends?"

"Thanks but not right now Tom," Harry replied, "We're off to do some shopping."

Lupin directed Harry though the numerous well-wishers and opened the portal to Diagon Alley.  The sight never failed to brighten Harry's mood.  All of the magical shops and activity reminded him of the first time he had been there.  Looking around he noticed some changes.  There were many older wizards seeming to stand guard and not as many children.  Lupin must have seen Harry's confusion and said, "Hit-wizards and guards."

Harry nodded and asked, "Why aren't there many kids?"

"Book lists haven't gone out yet.  They'll start coming in a week or so," Tonks said.

There was pointing and whispering as the three walked by.  Tonks just smiled brightly at it but Harry cringed.  By the time they got to the robe shop, they were being looked at by a group of witches and wizards that seemed a little younger than Tonks' age.  The door to the shop opened and they quickly entered.  Right after them, the group tried to enter but Madame Malkin stepped up and said, "If you're not here to shop you have to leave.  This isn't the place to stand around and gawk," causing the group of witches to quickly leave.

"Thanks," Harry said to the woman.

"My pleasure Mr. Potter.  Now what can I do for you today?" the woman asked.

Before she could answer Lupin said, "I'll go get some money for you Harry.  And your books."

"I thought you said the book lists hadn't come yet?" Harry asked.

"Yes well I have connections, remember," Lupin said.  "I know what you're taking."

"Don't I get any say in what classes I take?" Harry snapped.


	3. Time to tell the order

"Of course you do," Lupin quickly said.  "If Dumbledore and I are wrong about any of them, I'll swap the books myself.  Ok?"

"Whatever," Harry said still irritated.

Tonks had already started her mission and was explaining to Madame Malkin what she had in mind.  A few minutes later, they came back with armloads of Muggle looking clothes.  "We'll get the Muggle stuff out of the way first," Tonks said thrusting a pair of jeans and slacks into his hands.  "Go try these on."

Harry went to the dressing room and tried the jeans on first.  He realized instantly how much better they felt than Dudley's old hand-me-downs.  Looking at them in the mirror he was a bit surprised when it said, "Perfect fit.  She knows what she's doing."

"Get out here and let us see," Madame Malkin said.  Harry went out and felt slightly uncomfortable at the way the two women were talking about altering the clothes. 

"Now shirts," Tonks said handing more clothes to Harry who quickly tried them on.  After what seemed like an hour of changing, Harry had quite a few Muggle clothes that he had to admit he actually liked.

"Now robes," Tonks said and Madame Malkin came back with some in green and red.  Both Tonks and Harry cringed and when she saw his expression she laughed and said, "I think we both have the same idea.  I'm kind of partial to black myself."  Harry nodded and watched Madame Malkin shake her head and leave to get some other robes.  This time she came back with two all black robes and handed them to Tonks.

"Nice material," Tonks said running her hand over the thicker robe.  "Try this, it's a winter one."

Harry threw it on over the Muggle outfit he had kept on and did like it.  Madame Malkin made some flicks with her wand and the robe changed to a perfect fit.  She repeated this to the lighter weight robe and then left to find a dress robe.  She returned with a robe that at first glance seemed jet black but then when it moved it shimmered a deep red. 

Tonks grabbed it and whistled, "Merlin this is something."  When she held it still it became pitch black but when she moved it around it showed the shimmering red.  The lining was trimmed in a bead of gold.  "Perfect Gryffindor colors," Tonks said handing the robe to Harry.

Harry put the robe on and got up on the stand.  He did like the robe but kind of wanted just plain black.  "Maybe plain black would be better.  This is kind of showy," he said.

"Oh no Harry," Tonks said.  "This is perfect.  Especially for a Gryffindor."  Harry felt her eyes appraising him and squirmed a bit but she said, "You really look amazing in it."

"She's telling the truth dear," Madame Malkin said.  "It does seem perfect for you."

Harry turned again and scrunched up his face, still not sure.  "Trust me on this Harry," Tonks said.  "If there's one thing I know it's what looks good on a wizard."

Harry still wasn't sure but then heard a somewhat familiar voice say, "Take your friend's advice Potter.  For a Gryffindor you almost look…acceptable." 

Harry turned to see where the voice came and saw a stunning blonde girl from his school.  Harry had grown a bit, but she was easily as tall as him and carried herself with confidence.  Her long blonde hair flowed past her shoulders.  Even though she was a Slytherin and her use of his last name was common with them, there was no venom in her tone and she almost seemed to have a slight smile.  Harry cocked his head at her and asked, "And I should take a Slytherin's advice, Boslav?"  Harry tried to say this so she knew he wasn't being mean and could tell by the look on her face he had succeeded.

"You're choice Potter," Kari Boslav replied looking directly into his eyes.

Tonks was watching the exchange between the two and was surprised when Harry said, "Fine, I'll take this one as well."  He quickly shrugged the robe off and handed it to Madame Malkin.

"You're getting some nice clothes," Kari who had stepped closer said.  "Planning on a bunch of public appearances?"

Harry didn't know how to take that one so he answered honestly, "No public appearances for me.  Tonks just told me I looked like a slob."  Harry turned and raised his eyebrows at Tonks who let her short hair grow and get long like Kari's.

"I know sixteen-year-old boys don't have much fashion sense but you were beyond that," Tonks joked even as Kari stared at her now changed hair.

Just then Remus Lupin came in an announced, "I got your books Harry.  Sorry it took so long."  Then he noticed the Slytherin girl and said, "Miss… Boslav isn't it?"

"Hello Professor Lupin," Kari said.  "Are you coming back to teach us?"  Harry was surprised that she actually sounded pleasant to the werewolf.  He didn't remember any Slytherin being happy when Remus taught DADA.

"Ah no," Remus said, "I don't think the Ministry would approve of that at this point.  We're just accompanying Harry for some shopping."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence and then Tonks spoke up, "We're all finished now.  What say the four of us go over to Fortescue's for some ice cream?"

Lupin and Harry both snapped their heads at Tonks as her hair shortened and changed back to black.  "Um…I didn't mean to interrupt your day," Kari said and caught Harry's attention.

"No, it was nice to see you.  You can join us if you want.  My treat," Harry said hoping for someone to talk to that wasn't in the Order.

"Sure.  I don't need to be back for a bit," she said as Lupin held the door for everyone to leave.

Once outside the pointing and whispering started again and became really annoying before they entered the ice cream parlor.  The two students hadn't said anything as they made their way to the counter.  "Hello Mr. Potter," Florean greeted.

"Hello Mr. Fortescue," Harry said as he shook his head at the whispers behind him.

Before Harry could order, Florean asked, "Would you and your friends like me to set up a table in the back?  It could give you some privacy."

"Really?" Harry said.  "If it's no trouble, I'd appreciate it."

"No trouble at all," Florean said as he flicked his wand and ushered them into the back area where there were now two tables setup.  Everyone ordered with Harry and Kari sitting at one table and Remus and Tonks sitting at a table near the entrance.

Before Florean came back with the order Kari said, "I thought you would have loved all of that but you act like you can't stand it."

"I can't!" Harry quickly said.  "I wish they never noticed me."

"Draco says you do everything you can to get attention," Kari said with a slight unsure look on her face.

"Yeah well Malfoy's a lying little ferret," Harry said forcefully causing both Lupin and Tonks to snort in laughter.

Kari didn't laugh and seemed to be studying Harry but then asked, "You live with Muggles don't you?"  Harry nodded and she continued, "Has your summer been ok so far?  Done anything fun?"

Harry thought for a second and felt the pain of Sirius quickly but didn't want to show anything to the Slytherin girl so he said, "It's been ok.  But I don't really get to do anything fun.  The Muggles don't like me much."  Now the girl really studied him so he asked, "What about you?  Having a good summer?"

Maybe that wasn't the thing to ask, Harry thought.  Kari's expression seemed sad but then she said, "Not really.  My older brother died just after I got back home.  I miss him."

"I'm sorry," Harry honestly said.  After a moment of silence he added, "My godfather died before we left school last term as well."  Lupin coughed loudly and Harry saw him shake his head no.  Kari caught this but didn't say anything.  Harry continued, "I miss him as well."

"Skylar was a good guy," Kari said.  "He graduated three years before we started at Hogwarts."  She went on to tell a little about her brother, which made Harry realize he wasn't totally alone in his feelings.

That was the last negative thing the two students talked about.  After almost an hour there was a slight commotion in the main part of the parlor and the next moment, Kingsley Shacklebolt a large black man stepped directly to Lupin and Tonks who were already standing.  The three spoke softly and neither Harry nor Kari could make out what they were saying.  The three adults looked at the two students and then Lupin came over to their table.  "We need to go Harry," Lupin said in a very serious voice.  Harry saw that Kingsley was standing in the doorway looking intently outside.

Kari and Harry quickly stood up and Tonks said, "Let's get back to the Leaky Cauldron."

Florean quickly came in and said, "You can use my floo if you'd like.  It's right through here."  He motioned to a small door.

Lupin nodded but Kari said, "I can get back to the Leaky Cauldron on my own."

"I think it would be best if you left from here," Lupin said.  His tone was no-nonsense and Kari seemed to take the hint.

"Thank you Mr. Fortescue," Harry said, "for everything."

"My pleasure Mr. Potter," Florean said.  "I've always believed you and will help anyway I can."

"Sorry about all of this Kari," Harry said feeling bad for causing the girl any problems.

"No problem," she said with a genuine smile.  "I can finish shopping anytime.  Not a bad afternoon considering I spent it with a Gryffindor," she added with a smirk.

"Let's just keep it between us," Harry joked back.  "I guess no one would believe I hung out with a Slytherin anyway."

"See you at school Potter," Kari said before flooing home.

Quickly Harry turned on the others and asked, "So, what's going on?"

The three adults looked at each other but Lupin said, "We'll talk back at your Uncle's.  Let's go."

Nothing else was said until they had walked all the way back from Mrs. Figg's.  Only then did Harry demand, "Ok, we're back.  What was that about?"

"There've been some incidents in Diagon Alley," Lupin said.  "There have been some disappearances and minor things but we think they're all related.  Death Eaters are trying to recruit more members by any means."

"But I didn't think anything major had happened yet?" Harry asked.

"True, nothing major has but it won't be long," Tonks said. 

"He's mad Harry, really mad," Lupin said.  "You embarrassed him.  Again…"

"We hear the Death Eaters began to question him," Tonks said.

"He knows you can see things so he's being careful but he needs something to show that he's not weak.  You haven't seen the Prophet but there's been articles where 'unnamed sources' in the Ministry say the only reason he hasn't done anything is that he's afraid of you," Lupin added.

"What?" Harry exclaimed.  "C'mon no one could believe that."

"Well it's partly true," Lupin said.  "He was hurt after he possessed you.  He didn't expect to be expelled like that.  So he was hurt and embarrassed and we think he's planning something.  Dumbledore says you're doing well with Occlumency so he shouldn't be able to feed you fake information."

Harry didn't know what to say.  He wasn't even angry about not knowing this before but felt bad about not demanding information sooner.  Lupin's voice got his attention, "You're reading that book I gave you aren't you?" 

Harry nodded and Lupin said, "Good.  Read it again."

Tonks lightened the mood saying, "So what's up with you and the Slytherin?  She's a looker."

"Nothing's up," Harry quickly said.  "That's probably the first time I've ever had a real conversation with her."

"See, you let me dress you and look what happens.  A sexy witch hits on you," Tonks said causing Lupin to smile.

It didn't help Harry and he said, "And Voldemort's Death Eaters drive her off.  See what I said about priorities."

"She didn't seem too bothered by it," Tonks replied.  "A change in priorities is in order.  Witches first, You-Know-Who second.  That's an order," she added changing to look surprisingly like Professor McGonagall.

"Thanks for taking me shopping today," Harry said honestly glad they had gone.  "It helped to get out of here for a while."

"Only a couple more weeks," Lupin said.  "I'll be back in a few days.  Read your book."

"I may find some excuse to get back as well," Tonks said.  "Surely there's something I can teach you.  Pointers for the witches or something."

Harry smiled and said, "I'd take all the help I can get.  On both priorities."

That night Harry expected to have a good night's sleep since he went to bed feeling a little better than he had in a while but it wasn't meant to be.  He saw the now-familiar vision of his Godfather calling out from a cloud of mist begging him for help.  Harry always begged Sirius to tell him how to help but just as the ghastly looking man would start to say something Harry always woke up. 

Harry drank a glass of water and was just about to try and get back to sleep when his scar burned and he had a sudden sensation of confidence mixed with apprehension.  It shocked Harry since this was the first time in quite a while he had felt Voldemort's emotions.  Quickly he wrote a note and took it to his snowy owl.  Harry lightly scratched her ear and said, "Wake up girl, this is important."  The owl's large eyes blinked but she seemed to be paying attention.  "Take this to someone in the Order.  The closest one and be careful."  The owl hooted and quickly took off out the window.

Now Harry knew there would be no getting back to sleep so he picked up the shields book Remus had given him and in doing so noticed the clock said 12:45am.  "Happy 16th birthday," Harry thought to himself.  "One more year and then I can do magic whenever I want," he thought causing a smile to cross his face.  "I'll never come back to this place after that.  No matter what the Order says," He also thought.

It was only a couple hours later when Hedwig returned with a short note that simply said, "It started.  Stay inside."

The anger that flared at such a simple response faded with the focusing techniques that Occlumency had taught him.  He knew that details couldn't be provided via owl post so he went back to his book.  Not long after, he was jolted by three quick cracks and spun around, wand in hand to face three obviously shocked faces.  Lupin, Tonks and Moody were standing in his bedroom.  Of the three, only Moody smiled.  If you could call it that.  "Way to be prepared Potter," Moody growled.  "Now put that away."

"What's going on?" Harry demanded.

"He's trying to break the Death Eaters out of Azkaban," Lupin said causing Harry to start asking another question but Lupin continued.  "There's a large attack on Muggles north of London and," AND Harry though, there's more.  "And there was an attack on the Ministry."

"All at the same time?" Harry asked.  "How many Death Eaters does he have?"

"Obviously more than we thought," Moody said clearly annoyed.

"Then why are you here?  Shouldn't you be helping?" Harry exclaimed, now pacing around the room.

"Dumbledore's orders," Tonks said watching Harry intently.

This really got Harry angry.  They had no business guarding him, especially when they probably didn't know why, just because the Headmaster said so.  "Don't you think that's a bit odd?" Harry asked looking back at Tonks.

"Harry?" Remus said trying to prevent Harry from saying anything.

"What?  I think that's a valid question.  Don't you think it would be a better use of your talents to actually be out there helping people?" Harry firmly questioned? 

Tonks seemed uncomfortable but the gruff voice of Moody was clearly heard, "Yeah, I think that would be a better thing for us to do."

"Good!  So do I!" Harry exclaimed.  "Did you even question him about it?"

"Harry!" Lupin exclaimed.  "It's none of your business what we discussed with Professor Dumbledore."

"I trust the Headmaster boy," Moody growled.  "He has his reasons for keeping information to himself and that's good enough for me."

"Yeah keeping things from me did Sirius a world of good didn't it?" Harry spat back almost surprising himself by his firm calm voice.

"Harry," Tonks' pleasant voice grabbed everyone's attention, "we all know You-Know-Who wants to kill you and we think you're worth protecting.  If Dumbledore has other reasons that's his business."

"You should ask him directly," Harry softly replied to her.  "If your life is going to be placed in danger for me, you should know why."

"I may just do that," Moody said.  "But for now this is where we're staying."  The ragged wizard picked up the shields book and said, "Good book.  Saved my hide more than once."

"Remus gave it to me," Harry said, "Can't wait until I get to school so I can try them out."

"Merlin I forget you're not of age yet," Moody stated, "no wonder you're so gung ho about everything."  Lupin and Tonks both chuckled.

Moody's magical eye seemed to scan around and then he said, "These Muggles don't have a clue do they?"  Harry shook his head.  "Why'd he pick them to leave you with?" Moody added more as a statement.

Hoping to change the subject Lupin said, "Harry took a nice looking girl for ice cream today."  Harry's head snapped to the former Professor.  "A Slytherin," Lupin announced with a smirk.

"A very pretty Slytherin," Tonks added.

Moody took it in stride and said, "Yeah but you're a Parslemouth too.  Maybe you've got a thing for snakes."  Lupin and Tonks broke out laughing and even Harry smiled at the joke.

The mood and conversation for the next few hours was tense but didn't get as hot as it had been at first.  Except for the worry about what was happening with the Death Eaters, Harry enjoyed talking to the three adults.  Moody always talked to Harry like he was an adult and there had even been stories of things the Order had been doing.  Harry liked this; he wanted to be treated like an adult instead of being babied all the time.

The sun was well up when a weary Professor Dumbledore appeared in the now crowded bedroom.  Harry immediately started to ask questions but Dumbledore spoke quietly, "We were unprepared for this.  We had expected them to try and free the imprisoned Death Eaters and perhaps begin attacks on Muggles.  To launch those in addition to a direct attack on the Ministry was unexpected."

"But why the Ministry?" Tonks asked, "At that time of day it would be nearly empty."

"To show he could do it," Moody growled causing Dumbledore to nod.

"Did he free all the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.

"Only two," Dumbledore said.  "However the Ministry lost three Aurors and eleven prisoners, including three of the Death Eaters were killed.  They were surprised we had prepared for the attack."

"What about the Muggles?" Lupin asked.

"Six homes on a single street were destroyed.  Four of those homes had families in them," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

"Is this how it was last time?" Harry asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

No one answered for a minute and then it was Lupin who spoke up, "It was just different.  It was a slow rise last time but by the end it was worse than this, much worse.  This time it's just sudden for most people.  We've known he was back but remember that most people didn't believe us."

"So what do we do now?" Harry firmly asked.

"We?" questioned Lupin.

"We continue to thwart his plans," Dumbledore calmly said. "You continue doing what you have been, learning as much as you can.  Now we will let you get some sleep Harry since I'm sure you couldn't with everyone in your room.  I will miss our Occlumency lesson this week."

Harry couldn't think of any valid reason to say he needed to do anything else so he just agreed and said goodbye to everyone.

Instead of sleeping, Harry went down to watch the news with his Aunt and Uncle and quickly saw the report; "An unexplained gas explosion has leveled six homes in the quiet hamlet of North Winning last night.  Authorities have been unable to explain the green gas clouds that were reported by numerous witnesses."  Harry gave a cold chuckle that caused his Aunt and Uncle to look at him.

"What are you getting on about boy?" Vernon bellowed.

"That wasn't a gas explosion," Harry said.

"What do you know about it?  Don't give me that cock-n-bull about Voldythingy," his Uncle shot back.

"Fine I won't then.  Believe whatever you want but what kind of gas explosion leaves a green cloud?  But I bet only four of the homes had any people inside," Harry said back causing Petunia to get very concerned.

"And how would you know that?" she questioned.

"Because people where here guarding us since midnight and they told me this morning," Harry said.

"You're kind were here?  In our house?" Vernon said with a terrified look.  "I told you I don't want them around here."

"They were trying to keep us safe.  Are you sure you want to make them angry.  Voldemort won't hesitate to level this whole block you know," Harry said.

Petunia and Vernon exchanged glances and then Vernon yelled, "Go on about your business boy and leave us alone."

"Fine by me," Harry quickly said and went back to his room.

At that same time there was a drama playing out in the kitchen of the Burrow.  Ginny and Ron were trying to get information from their parents about what had gone on.  They knew their father had left last night and had been told only the basics about what had happened.  Nothing more than what the Daily Prophet would report.  When Professor Dumbledore appeared in their kitchen, the two student's surprise at that was dwarfed by the attitude of their mother.  Instead of flying off the handle and yelling she got an extremely cold look on her face and said, "Ron, you and Ginny need to go to your room now."

Ron and Ginny gave each other confused looks and Ginny started to say something but Molly rounded on them and calmly said, "Don't say anything.  Go to your rooms."  With wide, shocked eyes the two quickly left the room.

"I've never seen Mum like that," Ron said as they headed up the stairs.

"This is big," Ginny said.  "You know what that means?"  Ron shook his head.  "We need the ears," Ginny added.

"You know what she'll do if we get caught?" Ron quickly said.

"You don't have to listen but I'm not telling you if I find out," Ginny said as she entered her room and started digging in her closet and quickly producing two of the stringy objects.

"Fine but if we get caught I'm blaming you," Ron said.

"Yeah, like she'll buy that," Ginny said putting the object to her ear.

"Why isn't he here Albus?" Molly Weasley's voice came through.  Ginny gave Ron a thumbs up.

"He was protected Molly," the calm voice of Professor Dumbledore was heard.

"I know you say that house is protected but with attacks like this I'm not so sure," she said.  "He should be here."

"Harry felt Voldemort's mood and sent an owl to us.  Remus, Moody and Tonks were with him the whole night," Dumbledore said.

"Three members of the Order where there!" Molly exclaimed.  "You can't tell me there's not more going on here when you pull three capable members to stay with him.  If something's going on with him I demand to know."

Ron and Ginny gave each other looks after hearing the news that Harry was being guarded like that.  "He will be here within two weeks Molly," Dumbledore said.

"I'm sorry Albus but that's not good enough," Molly said but was cut off by Arthur Weasley saying, "Molly, we're not his legal guardian. We can only ask."

"He doesn't have a legal guardian!" Molly said.  "If something isn't done I'm going to take steps to rectify this."

"Molly!" Arthur exclaimed.  "You can't go to the Ministry about this."

"I can and I will," she firmly said causing her two children to look at each other in awe of their mother.  "I want what's best for Harry.  I want him protected, not just physically but emotionally as well and by Merlin that's what I'll get."

There was silence for a few minutes and then Dumbledore said, "I think it is time I let you all know some important information about Harry.  If you will give me until the meeting tomorrow Molly, I believe my actions will make a little more sense."

Molly started to say something but Arthur spoke up, "Of course we'll wait Albus.  You understand we're just concerned for him."

"Of that I have no doubt," Dumbledore said and then added, "Until tomorrow."

"He has a lot to deal with Molly.  Let's give him the benefit of the doubt," Arthur said.

"Not this time Arthur," Molly said.  "I wouldn't let him get away with this with any of my children and Harry's just as much a part of this family as any of them."

Ginny and Ron both let the ears drop and sat there in silence for a moment until Ron said, "Man Mom's scary sometimes."

"She'd do anything for her family," Ginny said.

"So why do you think they had three people guarding Harry?" Ron asked.  "They don't think he'd go off again do they?"

"I don't think so," Ginny replied.  "Even if they did it wouldn't take three of them.  Harry's good but it's got to be something else."

"We've got to stay up until they get back from that meeting tomorrow," Ron said with determination.  "Maybe they'll let something slip."

"Why don't you just ask Harry?" Ginny asked.

Ron rolled his eyes at his sister and questioned, "Our Harry???  I thought you knew him better than that.  If it's something that he thinks will worry us there's no way he'll talk.  C'mon Ginny."

This actually surprised the younger Weasley.  She had always thought that the trio shared everything but hearing that Harry didn't share much with her brother made her feel like less of an outsider.  The siblings didn't say much more and each went about their own business for the rest of the day.

The meeting of the Order had been very tense the next night with everyone trying to determine how they could have been so surprised by the scale of Voldemort's first real attack.  At the end of the discussion about normal events Dumbledore asked everyone to stay a moment, "I feel I have kept relevant information from all of you for far too long."  This simple statement got everyone's attention and the old wizard continued, "Privately some of you have questioned why I have placed an above average priority on protecting Mr. Potter."

"Above average!" Severus Snape spat.  "I'd say more like obsessive."

"Do you know how the community would react if something happened to him Snape?" Dedaleus Diggle added with others agreeing.

"The community would get over it," Snape spat back.

Dumbledore's voice focused everyone again, "The community's emotional response is not the primary issue."  There was silence again and Dumbledore took a deep breath.  "The prophecy Lord Voldemort so desperately desired last year further explains why Harry is such a threat to him and why he will never stop coming after Harry.  Voldemort would have done anything to hear the details." 

"What!" was the collective response.  "But it was destroyed!" Arthur Weasley said.

"True, but I was the one the prophecy was made to," Dumbledore softly said.  "It is time for all of you to understand what is at stake."  With that, Dumbledore produced his pensive and let the prophecy play out for the group.  Immediately after the prophecy vision faded Dumbledore quickly told them the only part that Lord Voldemort was aware of.  "So you see why he would be so interested in learning the details.  He knows Harry has the power to destroy him, he just doesn't know what that is and doesn't know that he transferred certain abilities to Harry during the first attack."

The rumblings started immediately.  Some silent and some quite vocal.

'Remus knew!' Tonks thought to herself.  'That's what was with him and Harry the other day.'  'It all fits now.  How could they just dump him at those horrible Muggles?'  'My future…The future of the rest of my family and friends on this one boy…'

'Merlin Albus!' McGonagall thought, 'you never told me!  He's in my house and you never told me.'   'My dear Griffindor', she now thought, 'You don't deserve this.  You didn't deserve those Muggles all those years ago.'

'So that's why the boy can break every rule and not be punished,' Snape instantly thought.  'If the boy ever found this out, he would have run of the castle.'

Everyone other than Remus Lupin seemed stunned.  It was the pleasant voice of Tonks that broke the rumbles, "But what about you?  Surely you can stop him as well?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily and said, "I assure you I cannot.  I can thwart his plans and maybe even banish him for a short time but I cannot stop him.  Of this I am sure."

There was considerable mumbling between the members with everyone other than Molly Weasley taking part.  Finally she asked, "What is this power Harry has?"

"That is unknown but I believe it to be his capacity to love," Dumbledore said causing everyone to look confused.  "He was saved as a baby by his mother's love.  Professor Quirrel and the wisp of Voldemort couldn't touch Harry when he saved the Sorcerer's Stone in his first year.  His love and loyalty to Hogwarts and directly to me called Fawkes to him when he was in the Chamber of Secrets and gave him the tools to defeat the Basilisk and seventeen-year-old Tom Riddle and to save Ginny Weasley.  His parents and their love of him helped him escape Voldemort after he took Harry's blood to return a body to himself."  Dumbledore paused, wondering how to broach what happened in the Ministry without announcing that Harry had given up.  "Harry was at his weakest at the Ministry, after Sirius was killed.  He charged off after Bellatrix Lestrang alone and had her in a stalemate until Voldemort showed up.  At that point, he felt all was lost. He felt alone and unloved," Dumbledore said.

Molly Weasley quickly exclaimed, "But he's not!"

Dumbledore raised his hand and said, "No he is not.  But you have to remember that Harry was brought up to believe that he was worthless.  The lowest of low."  This comment brought confused murmurs from the group.  "A few brief exposures to a loving family environment will not erase years of emotional abuse."

"You can't expect us to place our faith on the back of an undisciplined, arrogant little boy," the cold voice of Snape cut through the noise.

Lupin quickly stood but Dumbledore calmly said, "I cannot force you to believe this.  I can only say that I believe it with all my being.  Harry wouldn't hesitate to give his life for any of us.  I dare say for any Hogwarts student.  He cannot comprehend that his life could ever be more valuable than anyone else's."

"He'd do it even for you Snape," Lupin said still looking very angry.  "And he holds you just slightly above Bellatrix Lestrang."

There was more talking amidst the group and then Moody growled, "What does the boy think of this?"

"Surely you didn't tell him?" Snape quickly added.

"I agree, you can't tell Harry," Molly Weasley chimed in.  "He has to deal with too much already; you can't add this to him."

"His already swollen ego would be completely out of control," Snape added drawing deadly looks from most of the other members.

"Harry already knows," Dumbledore said causing many groans.  "We had a discussion right after I sent him back from the Ministry."

"He's known all this time?" Molly exclaimed.  "How could you Albus?  He's been alone dealing with Sirius' death and this as well!"

"Remus and I have regularly visited Harry," Dumbledore said trying to alleviate her concerns.

"You said he's emotionally abused by his relatives by what about you!  Has he been hugged every day?  Checking in on him every few days can't help much," exclaimed Molly who was now standing.

"So what does the boy think of this?" Moody asked again, loud enough to get everyone's attention.

"I suppose he wants even more special treatment," Snape said with a smirk.

"Harry was …upset when I returned from the Ministry," Dumbledore said with a pained expression.  "However once I told him of the prophecy he was surprisingly calm.   I would not have been surprised if he had directly attacked me but he did not."  Dumbledore thought and then added, "I think he accepts the prophecy but doesn't believe he has much chance of victory.  However, I am sure he will never give up trying."

"He needs to get out of there Albus," Molly firmly said.

"And he will Molly," Dumbledore replied, "he will come to the Burrow in a bit over a week."  The woman started to protest but Dumbledore stopped her and said, "And we will visit him more often until then.  He is most protected there."

"Maybe physically but that's all," Molly coldly replied.

"He'll be of age next year.  What then?  I can't see him willingly staying with the Dursley's," Moody gruffly said.

"He'll stay wherever we tell him to," Snape spat.  "The boy needs to learn to do what he's told."

Lupin looked ready to physically attack Snape but Dumbledore firmly said, "I can safely say that once Harry is of age he will not do anything just because any of us say so.  He believes and rightly so that he has been manipulated too much already and knew how much Sirius hated being confined.  No, Harry will do what he chooses to do and it will be our job to convince him what is the best thing.  Harry will blindly follow no one."

"Smart boy," Moody growled drawing a quick look from Molly Weasley.

The meeting broke up a bit later but Mr. & Mrs. Weasley approached Professor Dumbledore.  Molly had a very determined look in her eyes and noticing this, Remus Lupin approached as well.

"I want him out of there Albus," Molly firmly said.

"It is less than two weeks Molly," Dumbledore said.

"I mean permanently," she firmly replied and Arthur lightly put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's protected there," Dumbledore replied.

"Only physically and we can protect him at the Burrow.  What price is he paying for physical protection?  Even when he wins he'll never truly heal," she said with more conviction.  Dumbledore sighed and with a loud, firm voice Molly added, "I want guardianship of him Albus."

Lupin was not surprised by her asking but was surprised by how it came out.  She was directly challenging Professor Dumbledore.  He decided now was the time to let her in on some information.  "I am going to be his guardian Molly," Lupin calmly said. "Sirius's will suggested that as Harry's closest link to his parents I take the responsibility and I am anxious to do it."

"But the Ministry?"  Arthur Weasley spoke up, questioning the Ministry's position on werewolves.

"The Ministry will be convinced Arthur," Dumbledore said.  "Once Harry is back at school we will inform them of recent events."

Molly and Remus were looking directly at each other.  Remus knew the woman wanted to challenge him for custody and couldn't blame her.  "If you wouldn't mind Molly, I would very much like your assistance with him.  My connection to his parents could never make up for your experience with teenagers."

No one knew if the woman was going to rage or cry but she firmly said, "I only want what's best for Harry.  He deserves better than what he's been through.  Let's go home Arthur."  Arthur quickly said goodbye and they disappeared.

Ron had dozed off waiting for his parents to return but Ginny still had the extendable ear firmly in place and kicked her brother as soon as she heard her mother's voice in the kitchen.

Molly's cold, calm fury quickly changed to her comfortable, loud voice.   "How can they do this to him?  He's just a boy," Molly exclaimed, now in tears.  The two children listening upstairs both had wide eyes and knew something big was up.

"He had a right to know," Arthur said in a tone that conveyed his regret that it had come to that.

"How much more can he take?  That poor dear boy," Molly said sobbing now.  "I still want guardianship.  They can't keep treating him like this," she announced in a firmer voice causing a gasp from both of the children upstairs.

"He'll be here before long and then back at Hogwarts.  After this year he'll only have a short time before he's an adult.  Remus will listen to us Molly.  He cares about Harry as well," Arthur said.

"I just can't stand for this to be happening to him and not be able to do anything," she said through her tears.

"I'm writing Harry," Ginny announced as she ripped the extendable ear away.

"I wish Hermione was here," Ron said and almost instantly regretted it with the look his sister gave him.  "I mean she's better at getting him to talk."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what you meant," Ginny said.  "If you'll remember I got him to talk last year," she added as she grabbed some parchment and a quill.

"What are you going to say?" Ron asked starting to look over his sister's shoulder.

"None of your business Ron," she said.  "Unless you want to let me read your letters to Hermione."  Ron blushed.  "I know you've been having mum pass them to someone who can get them to her."

Ron stumbled and said, "Well… you know…  Just trying to make sure she's ok.  I don't think you'll have any luck with Harry though."  Ginny just glared at him and he added, "Ok.  I'm leaving."

Harry and Remus Lupin were sitting in the backyard of #4 Privet Drive discussing the comments from the meeting the night before.  In ways Harry was relieved that all of the Order knew about the prophecy but in other ways he dreaded how he would be treated.  After an awkward silence Harry looked down and asked, "What do you think really happened to him?"

It only took a moment for Remus to realize what Harry meant and had been expecting this type of question for a while now.  Even though Remus dreaded talking about the subject, he knew it was healthy for Harry to talk.  "I've asked a few people and the best I can gather is he just died.  It's not supposed to be painful or anything.  They used to use it as a form of execution until that was outlawed.  I've been wondering if being in Azkaban is less humane."

"Are you really sure he's dead?" Harry asked now looking up.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lupin said.

"But how can you be?  There's no body.  He was alive when he fell through.  I'm sure that he could have been saved from the curse," Harry said in a pleading voice.

"Maybe he could have been but he fell through the veil.  That's it.  You've got to let it go Harry," Lupin said.

"I still dream about him," Harry admitted but wasn't willing to go into details about the dreams.

"So do I," Lupin admitted.  "Sometimes I could almost swear he's around."

The erratic flying of a small owl caught their attention.  "Ron's owl," Harry announced, "the one Sirius gave him."  Harry grabbed the owl, took off the note and said, "Go on up to my room Pig.  Don't mind Hedwig."  The little owl fluttered away.

Harry quickly glanced at the note, folded it back and said, "It was from Ginny.  Wants to make sure I'm ok.  Want to bet she had Extendable Ears out last night?"

Lupin chuckled and said, "I wonder how much Molly and Arthur said.  Probably nothing specific if she didn't mention it in the note."

A crack got the attention of both of them.  "Moody!" both of them said.

"Lupin, Potter," Moody's ever gruff sounding voice replied.  "Forgot it was your birthday the other day Potter.  Thought you may be interested in this," he said as he handed an old worn book to Harry.   Harry opened the book to see it was some sort of journal and with further inspection he realized it listed various spells and counter curses.   "It's my private book of spells I think are useful."

"Can I see that Harry?" Lupin asked taking and then thumbing through the journal.

"Thanks Moody," Harry said.  "Would I learn these in school or Auror training… If I make it."

"Ah no, you wouldn't learn these," Lupin said giving a strange look to the other wizard.

Moody glared back at Lupin and said, "You don't have an issue with this do you Lupin?  No reason this can't stay between us is there?"

Lupin handed the journal back to Harry and said, "Actually I think it's a great idea and may see if I can put one together myself.  I seem to recall James and Sirius had started something like this.  I'll look in Sirius' vault."  Noticing Harry's look of confusion Lupin added, "Some of these are what the Ministry calls 'Grey Area' spells.  Not Dark Magic but close.  Only the most senior Aurors are exposed to them."

"Would I get in trouble for using them?" Harry asked.

"Not if you've no other choice," Moody growled.  "Now keep this to yourself.  I'd be in a right pickle for showing you these but…" he glanced at Lupin and continued, "after what Dumbledore told us last night exceptions need to be made."

"Thanks," Harry said with meaning.

"Let me know if you need anything," Moody said before vanishing.

"Not everyone is going to pity you Harry," Lupin said smiling.

"This reminds me," Harry said.  "I went through the school books you got and there is a sixth year potions book.  How did I get an O in Potions?"

"Well…Officially I can't say anything about your grades but I do know you didn't get an O in Potions," Lupin said and Harry started to mention Snape's restriction but Lupin stopped him.  "Professor Snape was…convinced…that you needed to be in the class."  A large smile crossed the older man's face and he added, "Professor McGonagall can be quite persuasive when she wants to be."

They were interrupted by a large, regal looking owl as it floated down to Harry and stuck out its leg.  As soon as Harry removed the note, the owl didn't hesitate and flew away.  "It's from the Ministry," Harry said and then added, "I haven't done anything.  I promise."

"Well open it," Lupin said shaking his head.

**_Mr. Harry Potter_**

****

**_In recognition for your unwavering dedication to the Wizarding Community, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge has awarded you the Scarlet Cross.  The Minister has scheduled a ceremony for August 25th at 11:00am in the Grand Hall at the Ministry building. Your unselfish actions will be acknowledged and then you will be formally presented with the award at that time._**

****

**_Congratulations Mr. Potter.  The Ministry looks forward to awarding you this honor._**

****

**_Percival Weasley, Senior Assistant to the Minister_**

"They've got to be kidding," Harry said as he handed the note to Lupin.

After reading it, Lupin seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "You deserve this Harry but you do know what they may be doing don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Harry exclaimed.  "I'm not a total dweeb.  He just wants some good press.  What have they been saying so far?"

Lupin smiled that Harry had such a good grasp of how the Ministry worked and said, "He's afraid he's going to be booted.  They're trying to get a vote of no-confidence in him."

"Good!" Harry said.

"In some ways but until we know who the next Minister would be we can't say for sure.  So what are you going to do about the award?"

"I'm not going," Harry quickly said.  "I don't care about the award."

"It wouldn't make you look bad if you did go," Lupin said but then saw the look of disgust on Harry's face.  "You really don't like the Ministry do you?"

"Can you blame me?" Harry replied and then said, "I'm not even sure about being an Auror any more.  I mean that's still part of the Ministry and I'd be used for political purposes."

Lupin laughed and said, "That may be but you don't have to decide right now.  The classes you need to be an Auror are good things to take anyway.  I'm going to talk to Dumbledore about this."  Lupin looked at Harry and said, "You know we all really care about you don't you?"

Harry seemed surprised at this and said, "I know you…and the Weasley's do.  That's all that matters to me."

"I think you'd be surprised how much others care about you.  Not just because of the prophecy either," Lupin said and finally added, "See you soon."

Harry headed up to his room and properly read the note from Ginny.  It amused him at how she tried to make it seem like she was just writing him for no reason but Harry saw through it quickly.  Hanging around the Weasley's so much had got him accustomed to how their sneaky minds worked.  He took out parchment and quill to respond.

**_Ginny._****__**

****

**_It's nice hearing from you so soon.  I hope everyone is still doing fine and that Ron is surviving without seeing Hermione so far.  There was no special reason you wrote so soon since your last note was there.  Not using any of the twins' inventions are you?_**

****

**_Tell your mom to not worry so much.  I'll be fine…really.  Being ignored by the Dursleys is really a good thing.  You're doing me a favor by being strong for her, she worries too much._**

****

**_I haven't heard if my Quidditch ban is lifted or not.  It may be difficult for me to play this year.  There seems to be a lot going on right now.  If I can't you'll need to make sure the cup stays in McGonagall's office._**

****

**_See you soon_**

****

**_Harry._**

"Here you go Pig," Harry said giving the note to the little owl.  "Don't let them worry so much," he said as he gave the owl a toss out the window.  Harry actually smiled when he thought about how different Ginny's technique for getting out of him was than Hermione's.  Ginny tried to trick him into giving information where as Hermione would just demand he tell her.  Harry had no intention on burdening his friends with any more of his problems.


	4. At the Burrow

--- Author Notes    ---- Numba1  -- Maulkin changed to Milkin and re-uploaded thanks…

RLupin1 -- Don't want it to be too obvious at first.

Keebler-elmo – only minor muscle-flexing in this one.  My last series had him  powerful.

Mitchell --- Thanks  This one is around 100,000 words..  That's about my limit.

-----------------------------------------------

Falling onto his bed, Harry felt the book Moody gave him in his back pocket so he pulled it out and began to thumb through it.  After an hour or so, he realized this would be one of his favorite books.  If the legendary Auror thought these were important spells to know, Harry knew that he would be well served by learning them all as quickly as he could.  The fact that the man had heard the prophecy and had given him his private journal had lifted Harry as much as anything Dumbledore had said recently.

Harry read until his eyes wouldn't stay open any more.  Being exhausted didn't stop him from having the dream where Sirius begged for his help but it didn't wake him up this night.

At the Burrow the next morning Ron saw his sister slowly come down the stairs and said, "Well?  Did the all-mighty Ginny Weasley get him to open up?"

"Shut up Ron!" Ginny exclaimed, annoyed at her brother for knowing Harry better.

"Did you get a note from Harry dear?  Does he seem to be ok?" her mother quickly stopped fixing breakfast and asked.

"Yes mum, Harry wrote back last night," Ginny said sighing.  "He says the same thing I told you, that he's fine and you shouldn't worry so much," she added trying to sound like she believed it.

"Hmmp," Molly groaned, "does that boy know how to say anything other than he's fine?"

Harry received nearly daily visitors over the next week and a half and enjoyed the ones from Lupin, Tonks and Moody the best.  Those three always talked to and treated him like an adult, not trying to pamper him or sooth him with comforting words. 

When the day came where Harry was supposed to leave for the Burrow, he was looking forward to seeing his friends.  All the apprehension about being around people again had faded, leaving him with just the longing to be with them again.  Lupin arrived early afternoon to escort him.  "Ready to go Harry?" Lupin asked as he hauled Harry's trunk outside.

"Yeah, I really am," Harry said.

"Good," Lupin replied.  "We won't have as much private time for a while but if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me.  You will never be a bother to me."

"Thanks Remus," Harry said as they approached Mrs. Figg's house.  "I've really liked being around you guys this summer.  It's helped a bunch."

"Helped me as well Harry," Lupin admitted.  "I wasn't in much better shape than you at the beginning.  I'm looking forward to when we can spend more time together."

"Me too Remus.  Are you coming to the Burrow?" Harry asked.

"No.  I'm just going to get see you floo away and then I'm off on an assignment," Lupin admitted.  Harry knew he would miss seeing the man as often but quickly realized that the real priority was fighting Voldemort and that Lupin was an important player for their side.

When they stood in front of the fire Lupin extended his hand and said, "Remember Harry, if you need me I'll come.  You come first to me.  Don't forget that."

"Thanks Remus.  You've been great," Harry said and with a final feeling of regret floo'd to the Burrow.

Flooing still wasn't his favorite way to travel but he had at least learned how to do it without falling down and he arrived in a somewhat dignified fashion on his feet with his trunk next to him.  Before he fully took in his surroundings he was hit by something that nearly knocked him down.

"Harry!" his best friend Hermione screamed as she hugged him tight. For a second Harry completely forgot about any of his problems and just enjoyed seeing his best friend again.

"Blimey Hermione," Ron said laughing, "let the boy breathe."

"Good to see you too Hermione," Harry said getting her hair out of his mouth as she pulled back.  "Did you have a good time with your parents?"

"Oh yes, it was wonderful spending time with them but I was so worried about all of you," she said wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

"Ok mate?" Ron asked shaking Harry's hand.  "Now maybe mum will pay some attention to us.  She's been going spare trying to get you out of there."

"I'm fine," Harry said.  "The Dursleys pretty much ignored me.  About as much as I can ask for."

Hermione gave him a questioning look and asked, "Are you really ok Harry?"

Before he could answer another voice was heard, "Of course he's ok Hermione."  Harry turned and saw Ginny come into the room.  "He said so in his notes.  Unless of course you weren't telling me the truth," Ginny said raising her brow at Harry.

"I wouldn't lie to you," Harry said.  "I'm fine…Honestly."

"Well let's get your trunk upstairs and then mum will want to have a look at you," Ron said as he grabbed one end of Harry's trunk.  Hermione complained about not having her OWL results the whole time the trunk was being taken to Ron's room.

She was still complaining about it when they arrived back in the kitchen but Mrs. Weasley said, "You won't have to wait much longer.  Dumbledore said you should have them by tomorrow." 

"Hi Mrs. Weasley.  Thanks for letting me stay," Harry said from behind the woman.

The woman hadn't realized Harry was there and dropped the plate she was washing at the sound of his voice and startled the boy as she pulled him into a smothering hug.  "Oh Merlin!" she said breathlessly.  "You're finally here.  Let me look at you," she said holding him at arms length.  The other kids in the room were smiling brightly at the woman's display of affection.

"You at least look like you've been eating better this year," she said pursing her lips.  "You're where you belong now and we'll make sure everything's ok," she said with another hug.  "It's a beautiful day, why don't you lot go outside and get caught up on what's been going on," Mrs. Weasley said looking at Ron and Hermione.  The three had already talked about trying to get Harry to talk about how he was feeling.

Once outside Hermione started by telling Harry everything she did during her holiday and then Ron and Ginny described everything that was going on with them and what the twins were up to. 

Harry had to admit that hearing the fun things his friends had been doing made him feel both happy for them and a bit jealous.  The feeling of being happy for them won out and he enjoyed hearing their stories.  Hermione regularly tried to get him to talk about things he had been doing but Harry just responded with "not much" and "just took some walks".  When Hermione started pushing like she usually did, Ginny would say something to help change the subject and for this Harry felt very grateful.  Harry also noted that Ron passed up many opportunities where he would normally had made fun of Hermione and that the two of them sat a little closer than they normally did.  This really made Harry feel better.

After hearing all about Hermione's trip there was an awkward silence and then Ron said, "You heard about the attacks didn't you?"

"Ron!" Hermione yelled rounding on him.  "What are you bringing things like that up for?  We talked about this,  remember.

"I heard already!" Harry said loudly.  "They're not keeping things from me this year and anyway, my scar hurt and Voldemort let slip that he was really anxious about something," Harry snapped then looked between his two best friends.  "I'm not a little fragile kid you know and I don't need my two best friends treating me like one," he added and then headed back to the house.

"Told you so," Ginny said with an annoyed look at the other two and then ran to catch up with Harry.

"They're just worried you know," she said before he got to the house.

Harry turned, went to a bench at the side of the Burrow and said, "I know but I don't need them acting like that.  They think they're fine knowing things but I can't handle it."  Harry sat down and then quietly added, "I handle more than they'll ever know."

"What'd you say?" Ginny asked, sitting on the other end of the bench.

Harry shook his head and said "Nothing.  I was just mumbling."  He then looked at her and said, "You're not keeping things from me as well are you?"

Ginny looked uncomfortable and said, "Well...Mum's been really mad at Dumbledore lately so Ron and I listened in when they got back from a meeting and she seems really upset about something you have to do and they way you've been treated.  She wants to get guardianship of you.  But we didn't find out any details."  Harry was silent for a minute and Ginny added, "You're not mad are you?  I'm trying to not act worried."

Harry chuckled a bit and said, "I'm not mad.  Remus was over when you sent your note and I told him you probably had the Extendable Ears out since you seemed to be fishing for information."  Ginny looked shocked that Harry had figured her out.  "And I appreciate you not acting like I'm going to fall apart or anything.  I'm fine…Really"

"Well honestly I don't believe you're fine but if you promise to talk to me if things get really bad I'll let you off the hook," she said.

"Deal," Harry said, "And I'll try to not let the others get to me.  I guess we should go back over there so I can apologize."

"Only apologize for walking away," Ginny said.  "She shouldn't have acted like that."

The two walked back to where Ron and Hermione were talking.  Harry could tell Hermione's eyes were red and he immediately felt bad for reacting so badly.  Before either of them could say anything Harry quickly said, "Sorry for storming off like that.  I should have just told you how much it annoys me when people treat me like I can't handle anything."

"It's ok.  I just didn't want anything to upset you," Hermione said wiping her eyes.  "I know how insensitive Ron can be sometime."

"Hey, I'm right here!"  Ron said even though he had a slight smile.

"I'm fine but I won't be if my best friends keep things from me," Harry firmly said.

"She won't anymore will you Hermione?" Ron said giving her a smug look.

"No," she said wrinkling her nose at Ron.  This exchange totally surprised Harry.  He fully expected a major blow up between the two but they were both letting things just slide off each other.

"So what do you think of the attacks?" Ron asked his question again and Harry could see Hermione struggling to hold back a comment.

"He must have a lot more Death Eaters than we thought," Harry said and Ron nodded.  "I mean he launched three simultaneous attacks with enough people to break the others out of Azkaban."

"You heard who made it out didn't you?" Ron asked slowly.  Harry shook his head and Ron said, "Malfoy and Dolohov."  Harry saw Hermione flinch at the name of the Death Eater that had cursed her and Harry groaned that Malfoy had been the one freed."

The four sat in silence until Harry softly said, "I'm sorry about getting you guys into that.  I won't drag you off again."

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.  "You didn't drag us.  If you'll remember we forced you to take us."

"Yeah mate," Ron added.  "It was our choice."

It made Harry feel much better when he heard them say that but he still knew it was his mistake that had put them at so much risk.  "Dumbledore's taught me Occlumency so Voldemort won't be able to trick me like that again," he admitted.

"Now that the Ministry admits he's back, they can work with Dumbledore and handle things.  We can just focus on N.E.W.T.s.," Hermione said watching Harry closely.

Harry snorted and said, "Yeah right.  N.E.W.T.s.  I'm sure Voldemort will give me a couple years off so I can study."

Ron and Hermione kept glancing at each other and then Hermione asked, "Is something going on Harry?  It seems Dumbledore and the others are really worried about you.  Even before I left with my parents, he seemed really concerned."

"Yeah mate," Ron added, now deciding to speak up, "mum's been going off on Dumbledore about you."

Harry wished he could just tell them everything but didn't want more pity than they gave him already so he just said, "They're like you lot and think I'm going to crack."  Harry didn't think they totally believed him so he quickly said, "I'm going to head back in."  He got up before anyone could say anything and headed back to the Burrow.

"There's more going on," Hermione firmly said once Harry was away.  "I never thought I'd see Dumbledore looking so worried."

"And mum," Ron added, "She's in a right state about something.  And Harry… He's acting almost too good…that is until he stormed off."

"I know," Hermione agreed, "like there's no middle ground.  He can either push everything back or it all comes out.  That can't be healthy.  He should just talk to us."

"But you can't push him," Ginny firmly said.  "He'll just clamp down if we do."

Supper that evening was too quiet for Molly Weasley's taste.  She kept trying to get Harry to talk about anything but he had only said a few words.  He had eaten enough so that she didn't need to hound him but always seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.  Even when she reluctantly accepted his offer to help with dishes, he hadn't answered any of her questions with more than two words.

Harry announced he was going to turn in early, hoping that Ron wouldn't follow and fortunately, his best friend decided he was going to stay up for a while with Hermione so Harry had time to continue reviewing the spells in Moody's journal. Ready Moody's description of what some of the spells did actually bothered Harry a bit but he realized if the experienced Auror thought they were valuable than he would try his best to learn them.

When Harry woke early the next morning, two things surprised him.  First was how refreshed he felt, and second was that Ron seemed to snore even louder than he remembered.  Harry made his way to the kitchen and when he was filling his glass with water, he was startled by a familiar voice.  "Morning Harry," Hermione said pleasantly.

"Hermione," Harry said trying not to sound too startled.  "I didn't think anyone else was up."

"Well I had an idea you might be up early and hoped we could talk without everyone around," she said firmly.

"Oh," Harry said turning back to fill his glass.  "What did you want to talk about?" he finally asked, knowing what she probably wanted to discuss.

"Anything," she responded in a too-nice tone.  "We didn't really talk before summer break and everyone was around yesterday.  I just thought it would be nice to have some time alone."

"Sure," Harry said trying to hide his annoyance at this.  He did find the idea of talking to Hermione appealing but wasn't sure he wanted to talk about the same things she did.

"Well let's take a walk before breakfast," she said leading him outside.

The two walked in silence until Hermione asked, "How are you feeling Harry?"

"I'm feeling fine Hermione.  How have you been?" Harry replied as calmly as possible.

Hermione stopped, looked at him intently and said, "You know what I mean Harry."  Harry only returned her look so she continued, "How are you handling losing Sirius?"

Harry couldn't get mad at her for asking this way.  Just yesterday he had gotten mad when she had tried to baby him.  "I'm handling it just fine," he said matching her gaze for gaze.

"Hmmm," she said.  "You know it would really help to talk about it."

Harry breathed deeply and said, "How would you know?  It seems to me you just had a nice vacation with your parents who, thank Merlin are still around."

The coldness of his response actually shocked her.  She had prepared herself to deal with his anger and the possibility of him yelling at her but his cold response caught her off guard.  "I miss him too Harry," she said almost starting to tear.

"Do you really think it's the same?" Harry asked shaking his head.  "You have no idea."

"Ok, maybe I don't," she said unable to hold back the tears.  "Talk to me about it.  Please."

Harry thought for a moment and asked, "Ok.  What do you think that veil was?  What do you think happened to him?"  Hermione didn't expect this question and didn't respond quickly so Harry said, "You wanted to talk about him and this is what I want to talk about."

Hermione saw through Harry's tough shield and could tell how much hurt he was feeling but she firmly said, "He died Harry.  He fell through the veil and died."

"How do you know?" Harry exclaimed.  "You were out of it!  I nearly lost you as well!  You didn't see what happened.  How can you know what happened?"  Harry was now pacing just out of her reach.  She wanted nothing more than to hug him and help with his pain but he wasn't having any of it.

"I asked everyone I could think of Harry," Hermione admitted.  "I wanted to know as well."  She paused watching his reaction and then added, "He's gone.  I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry, it's not your fault," Harry said in a very cold voice.  "You tried talking me out of going.  It was my fault.  All my fault," he said sounding defeated and finally stopped pacing.

She was just about to pull him into a hug when another voice broke the silence, "Oi!  What are you lot doing up so early?"  They turned and saw Ron strolling up to them.  "We should all still be asleep."

"Just catching up.  Who can sleep over your snores anyway," Harry said in such a cheerful voice that it shocked Hermione.  "Let's get breakfast," he added and then quickly headed back to the Burrow.

Ron saw the look of concern in Hermione's face but she just shook her head and they followed Harry inside.  Mrs. Weasley was up and fixing breakfast when they entered the kitchen.  "Did you sleep well Harry?" she asked while continuing to cook.

"Actually I did Mrs. Weasley.  It's nice being here," he honestly said lifting the woman's spirits.  Ron and Hermione came and sat across from Harry just as Ginny came down the stairs.

"Well you know you're always welcome here.  If I had my way you'd never go back there," Molly firmly said.

"I'd rather be here but I won't have to be there much longer," Harry said with conviction.  "I suppose they'll make me after this year but once I'm seventeen, I'll never set foot in that place again."

"But Harry," Hermione quickly said, "you're safest there.  You know what Dumbledore says."

"Trust me, I know what Dumbledore says," Harry replied.  "But once I'm of age he'll have no say on what I do outside of Hogwarts."

"We'll keep you safe here.  Don't you worry about that," Mrs. Weasley said sounding cheerful at the thought of Harry living there.

Ginny caught Harry's attention and rolled her eyes causing him to give a slight smile.  "I'm sure you can Mrs. Weasley but I don't like you all being in more danger because of me."

"Nonsense dear," the woman replied, "with everything the rest of my boys are up to I don't think we could get any further in the mix."

"And you know that if you don't come here, I'm going to have to go where you are," Ron announced.

"Ronald Weasley," Molly exclaimed, "You will not leave this house before you graduate."

"Then Harry will just have to stay here," Ron said smirking at his best friend.

"I won't be of age until we're back at Hogwarts and I'm sure my parents wouldn't let me go anyplace other than here," Hermione sadly said.

"And you will not be living with two single boys!" Molly quickly added in her motherly voice.

"A lot can happen between now and then so let's not argue about it," Harry said looking at the plate Mrs. Weasley just put in front of him.

Harry had been up in the room he and Ron shared since right after breakfast, thankful for some time alone.  The quiet time he spent practicing Occlumency was a comfort to him lately.  He heard more and more voices coming from downstairs and decided he should rejoin the others.  Entering the kitchen, Harry noticed many other heads from outside.  It seemed like all the Weasley children were now at the Burrow laughing outside.  "Why is everyone here Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked to the only other person in the kitchen.

"We're having a meeting tonight and they came over early to see everyone," the woman said with obvious joy.  "I'm just fixing some sandwiches for everyone.  There're some bits already on the table.  Go on out and say hello."

Harry stepped outside and saw the smiles on everyone's faces.  Harry couldn't believe he actually put off coming here this summer.  Being around such a fun and loving family was helping him immensely.  Harry grabbed one of the small muffins and stepped closer to the gathering of redheads.  They turned just as Harry popped the muffin in his mouth trying to chew and smile at the same time.  The look on the other boy's faces made Harry's heart stop.  He turned to see Mrs. Weasley come out with the tray of sandwiches and then heard the twins yell, "Don't eat that!!!"

As soon as Harry turned back to see who they were talking to, he felt it.  He was suddenly breathing in deeply and unable to stop.  He could just make out the voices around him as he tried to stop inhaling.  Harry saw his hands and arms expand like some balloon in a parade.

"They weren't for you Harry!" one of the twins said.  "We'd never target our backer," the other announced.

By now Harry was at least three times his normal size and still breathing in.  "Why'd you do that to Harry?" Ginny angrily said.

Before they could explain again Harry violently started to exhale and began shooting around like a balloon that has just been let go.  SLAM…the balloon Harry bashed into the side of the house before streaming off toward the swing set.

"If you boys hurt Harry you'll have me to answer to!" Molly exclaimed.

"He should be fine mom," George replied and then softly said, "You did put the cushioning charm on them didn't you?"  Fred looked like he was trying hard to remember.

"You'll wish it was just mom after you if he's hurt," Ginny said still wincing when she saw Harry bounce off the swing set.

With the final push of breath, Harry went sailing and landed with a loud thud in the hedges along the yard.  "You have no idea what he's going through!" Molly yelled as she turned and ran after the twins who were heading to where Harry landed.

"He seems to be handling Sirius being gone well enough," Ron said, confused at his mother's comment.

Charlie caught this and angrily said, "Sirius being gone is the least of his worries."  Then the older brother joined the rest checking on Harry.

Just before the group reached the hedge a disheveled Harry stood up with the largest smile his friends had seen in a long, long time.  "That was great!" Harry exclaimed looking with wonder at the twins.  "Bloody brilliant!  Didn't hurt a bit!"

"Must have remembered the cushioning charm," Fred said letting out a deep breath causing all the boys starting laughing.

George beamed and said, "It was what you did to your aunt a few years ago that gave us the idea.  See, you're our financial backer and give us ideas."

"You boys have gone too far!" Molly exclaimed, still not seeing the humor in this.  "You can't risk hurting Harry!"

"I'm not hurt!" Harry exclaimed and then added in a quite annoyed voice, "I'm not a fragile little thing.  I can handle myself."

The other Weasleys were watching to how their mother was going to react.  The boys never spoke in that tone to her.  To their surprise she pleasantly said, "Of course you can dear.  They just shouldn't have those things around where anyone can get to them."

"I'd like to try it again!" Harry said now smiling again.  This seemed to be good enough for everyone because they went back to the table and started lunch, still recalling how Harry looked flying around.

Hermione pulled Ron out of a discussion with Fred and then grabbed Ginny, leading them both off to the side of the Burrow.  "What do you want Hermione?  Fred was just teaching me some jokes," Ron said in his annoyed voice.

"What do you think Charlie meant?" she asked and then noticed the look of confusion on Ginny's face so she explained what happened.

"I don't know," Ron quickly replied, "maybe he needs to worry about his grades or something.  What does it matter?"

"It matters Ron," Ginny said, "because we know something's up with him and Charlie knows as well.  That means everyone in the Order probably does."

"Ok, maybe you're right," Ron said.  "But Harry's happy right now.  Don't spoil it.  Please."

Hermione hated to admit that Ron was right.  This wasn't the time to talk to Harry about it.  "You're right, I'll wait," she said and saw the astonished look on Ron's face.  "C'mon get back to your joke," she added as she pushed him back to the table.

"You're right though Hermione," Ginny said.  "Something's going on and we'll find out what it is.  Harry won't tell voluntarily.  He'll need to be tricked."

The family get-together lasted another hour until Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody showed up.  Tonks quickly got in the spirit of things by changing her hair red but Mad-Eye came to the table and growled.  "Potter.  Over here."

Harry got up and followed the ex-Auror to the edge of the property.  "Doing ok?" Moody asked.

"Fine.  It's good being here," Harry honestly replied.

"Keeping up with your reading?" Moody grumbled.  "No time to be getting complacent."

"I'm reading," Harry sighed as Tonks walked up.

"Heard you tried a new form of flying Harry," Tonks said.

"Ha..Ha…Nymphadora," Harry teased back.

The girl looked shocked, angry and then evil as she turned her hair blonde and made it grow longer.  Her facial features changed slightly and she said, "Now what would your friends say about your date with the Slytherin?"

"Ok…Ok…" Harry quickly said, "Tonks it is."

"You learn quick Harry," Tonks said reverting to her normal appearance.  "Was I close?"

"Close enough.  And it wasn't a date," Harry said.

"So what do you think of the journal?  Do they make sense?" Moody grumbled.

"Some of them are disgusting," Harry said shaking his head.

"That's right they are.  Remember that.  They're not to be used lightly," the man grumbled.

"That can't be all you're here for," Harry said looking at the man.

"Are you sure you're just sixteen?" Moody asked almost smiling.  "There've been more attacks.  Another Muggle neighborhood and some Ministry families."

Harry felt this was the case and asked, "Anyone I know?"

"Don't think so," the man replied.

"Why did you tell me?"

"You have a right to know and I for one won't keep things from you," Moody firmly said.  "Also the Muggle street was Provet," the man added watching Harry's expression.

"Do you think it was coincidence?" Harry asked worrying about his Aunt and Uncle.

"Hard to tell but I don't much believe in coincidences," Moody said.  "Dumbledore's changing the wards around the Dursleys.  They will be fine.  If they were looking for you it means someone in the Ministry isn't on our side."

"The Ministry's never been on my side," Harry said.

When they got back to the table Mrs. Weasley gave Moody an evil look and said, "Alastor.  You know how I feel about this."

"Just talking to the boy Molly," Moody said.  "Giving him tips on being an Auror."  Molly gave a "hhhrump" and walked away.

Just then Fred yelled, "Quidditch anyone?  We should have enough for a good match."

There were many yells of agreement and Harry was torn.  He really liked the idea but hadn't been on a broom in a while.  Freds' voice got his attention, "We need one more player?"

"I'll go get my broom," Tonks said.  "Can't have Ginny being the only girl."

Harry was standing there while the Weasley boys ran inside to get their brooms and heard, "Try to enjoy it while you can."  Moody was standing beside him.  "You won't do his memory any good by punishing yourself."

Before Harry could say anything, Ron came out and thrust his Firebolt in his hand.  "Forgot we had this inside.  C'mon let's play."  Ron mounted his broom and was gone.  The rest of the boys came out and were in the air warming up.  Tonks returned the next moment and was also in the air surprising Harry with how well she flew considering how she was on the ground.

Hermione came over and said, "You're going to play aren't you?"

Harry nodded and tried to smile as he called "Up", causing the broom to snap into his hand.  He mounted it and stayed hovering just off the ground for a minute.  He didn't notice the others looking at him until Ron came over and said, "Why don't you have a warm up for a few minutes.  You haven't flown in a while."

Harry looked around and caught Ginny's eye and saw her give him a nod of encouragement.  Taking a deep breath, Harry pulled the handle up sharply causing him to rocket straight up.  Harry missed hearing all the gasps and Hermione's scream as the rush came over him quickly, pushing him to go higher, faster.

"Is he out of control?" Hermione screamed.

"Hermione, this is Harry and a broom.  There's no such thing as out of control," Ron yelled still craning his neck to see the quickly fading dot in the sky.

About the time that Ron began to wonder, the dot grew larger.  Harry was laid out flat on his broom as he coaxed it to go ever faster.  The ground was coming up at an alarming rate but Harry felt more alive than he had in a long time.  Hitting speeds he couldn't remember feeling before, Harry didn't notice the look of horror on his friend's faces as he pulled up barely a foot from the ground and sped off toward the wood at the edge of the property.  "What's he doing?" Ginny asked.  "There's no room to fly in there!"

Harry didn't slow down and quickly disappeared into the thick grove of trees.  The only sign that anything was going on was the screech of birds as they flew up and out of the wood.  Deeper and deeper he went, causing more and more birds to leave the comfort of the trees.  His friends were discussing what to do when they saw the retreating birds come closer and closer to the property line.  Just then a black blur came shooting out, looped Ron and hovered right next to the shocked redhead.  "Ok, let's play!" Harry announced and then looked around to see everyone with their jaws open.  "What?  I think I'm warmed up," he said a little self-consciously.

Ginny's voice focused everyone, "Right!  Let's play.  Fred, you and George can be captains.  Pick teams."

Harry and Charlie were the first two picked as seekers.  Harry's team ended up with Fred, Ron and Ginny and the game started quickly after that.  All the troubles he felt vanished once their practice snitch was released.  It quickly became apparent that Charlie was an amazing seeker as he almost caught Harry with a quick back-to-back feint.  Harry found himself doing something he normally never did; he was trying to mark Charlie's moves.  The only advantage Harry had was his broom.  Charlie was as good a seeker as Harry was.

The match had gone on for over an hour when Hermione's shrieks got everyone's attention.  She was standing on the table jumping up and down, holding three large envelopes.  When everyone got to her she screamed, "Our O.W.L.s are here!"

"You stopped Quidditch for O.W.L.s?  How could you?" Ron loudly asked and was joined by the groans from the other Weasley boys.

"Well we're stopped now," Harry said grabbing the envelope with his name.  "May as well see how bad I did."

"You go first!" Hermione said barely able to keep her hands still.

"Just do it at the same time," Ginny said laughing at her friend.  Ron and Harry shrugged their agreement and on three they opened their notes.

Harry quickly scanned his and wasn't too surprised.

**_Ordinary Wizarding Level report for Mr. Harry Potter:_**

****

**_Astronomy                                          Acceptable_**

**_Care of Magical Creatures                Exceeds Expectations_**

**_Charms                                               Outstanding_**

**_Defense Against the Dark Arts         Outstanding – Highest point total of the year_**

**_Divination                                          Acceptable_**

**_Herbology_****_                                           Exceeds Expectations_**

**_History of Magic                                Poor_**

**_Potions                                               Exceeds Expectations_**

**_Transfiguration                                 Exceeds Expectations_**

****

**_Based on your O.W.L. scores you may select from the following classes to continue your N.E.W.T. level training._**

****

**_Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration._**

****

**_Please see the attached note for the book list once you have chosen your sixth year classes._**

****

**_Minerva McGonagall Headmistress Gryffindor House_**

These were slightly better than what Harry had expected and he looked up to see what his friends thought.  Ron looked happy as well so Harry asked, "So how'd you do Ron?"

"I got seven!" Ron exclaimed and the twins groaned loudly.  "Two Outstanding!" he added.  They both turned to Hermione who didn't look quite as thrilled.

"Hermione?" Harry questioned.

"C'mon Hermione," Ron said, "You got all O's we know.  We won't be jealous."

"I got an E in Astronomy!" she exclaimed.  "There were extenuating circumstances…How could we concentrate when McGonagall was being attacked?"

"Talk to McGonagall," Ron said sounding outraged.  "I'll come with you."

Harry turned and raised his eyebrows to Ginny who just shook her head at her brother and how supportive he was of Hermione.

Ron looked back down at this list and said, "Hey!  This says I can take Potions!  I only got an E."

"Mine too Ron," Harry said, "I think McGonagall pulled strings knowing we wanted to be Aurors.  She'll be all over us to do well."

"I can just imagine how Snape will treat us," Ron groaned.

"You two did really well," Hermione said seeming to beam at Ron.  "I'm so proud of you…both."

"What are you taking Harry?" Ron asked.

"Whatever I need to be an Auror I guess.  Charms, DADA, Potions, Transfiguration and then Care of Magical Creatures I guess.  Maybe I could get into Muggle Studies instead," he said seeming to think.

"Why would you want Muggle Studies?" Ginny questioned.

"Well it should be pretty easy since I grew up with them," Harry admitted.  "And, unless the Ministry turns around I'm not having anything to do with them."

"Harry!"  Hermione scolded.  "You can't think that.  We have to support them and try to make changes."

"When have they supported me?" Harry snapped back.  "I'm not going to blindly support them after all the lies they've told."

"Yeah mate!" Fred yelled.  "Bunch of idiots.  Can't trust the lot," George added. 

"How can you say that?  Your father and brother work there," Hermione said.

"I guess Dad's one of the only good ones," George said and then saw Tonks looking slightly hurt so he added, "And you of course Tonks.  And Kingsley.  You know the ones in the Order are ok."

"You know Percy didn't mean it," Hermione said and instantly realized this wasn't the right thing to say. 

Even Bill who was very reserved snapped, "Don't bring that traitor up around me."  Now all the boys were mumbling angrily.

"She doesn't realize what its like," Ginny said shaking her head in disappointment at Hermione.  "She's an only child and can't understand what it's like when someone betrays your whole family."

Hermione started to say something but Ron squeezed her arm and firmly whispered, "Don't push this one."

"C'mon," Ginny said feeling bad for snapping at her friend.  "Let's go in and see what books you lot need.  Maybe we can go to Diagon Alley."

Mrs. Weasley was extremely pleased with the O.W.L. scores and fixed a special meal that evening.  It was decided that they would go to Diagon Alley in two days to get their school supplies.  Mrs. Weasley had been against the children going but her oldest children convinced her that they should all go.

It was decided that the trip to Diagon Alley would happen Friday and everyone was excited to get out for the day.  Hermione had her list prepared early listing all the books she wanted to get as well with everything to replenish her supplies.  Ron only wanted to get to Quality Quidditch Supplies.  Harry didn't really need anything since he went earlier but he was looking forward to spending the day with his friends in Diagon Alley.

"Besides books what do you need Ginny?" Harry asked when he saw Ron and Hermione talking quietly in the corner.

"New robes," she said quickly.  "These old things are just too small.  I finally started to grow," she added calmly and then realized who she was talking to and what she meant.  Instantly she turned bright red.

It took until the look of shock on Ginny's face before Harry realized what she was talking about.  He felt like he matched her blush and stammered, "I…well…I guess that's good.  New robes are always good."  There was awkward silence and then Harry nodded his head to his other friends and said, "I think Ron finally realized Hermione's growing as well."

"If they don't kill each other they may actually work out," Ginny said grateful for the change of focus.  She glanced at Harry and said, "It's not going to bother you is it?"

Harry almost instinctively replied 'of course not' but saw that Ginny really wanted to know so he said, "Yeah it is."  Harry saw the slight look on Ginny's face that his answer caused so he continued, "I mean I'm really happy for them and if anyone deserves it, they do.  I'm just being stupid."

Ginny smiled and said, "Do you know that's probably the first time you've told me how you feel other than saying 'fine' or something like that?"  Harry kind of shrugged so Ginny continued; "They won't shut you out on purpose you know.  They both love you."

"Yeah, I know," Harry admitted.  "You're pretty easy to talk to you know."

Now Ginny blushed softly and said, "Thanks Harry.  Remember that.  I won't go running to anyone either."

"I may take you up on that sometime," Harry said.   "I'm heading up to bed," he announced hoping to get time to read his books uninterrupted.  Thumbing through the shields book Harry was happy to remember each incantation for the various spells.  Moody's journal wasn't coming as quickly though and wasn't as enjoyable to read at night but Harry forced himself to read some anyway knowing how important they could be.

Harry was asleep before Ron came up and was surprised to find his friend already gone when he woke the next morning.   Harry showered and put on some new clothes and his new black robe before heading down to find his friends already dressed and eating with Tonks, Remus, Mad-Eye, Bill, and Charlie Weasley.  Harry stopped in the doorway looking at the gathering and Tonks said, "Wotcher Harry!  'Bout time you rolled around."

"We were about ready to send Ginny up to wake you up," Bill said drawing a death glare from his little sister.

"Wouldn't let them do it mate," Ron said.  "You were the calmest you've been since getting here."

"Thanks Ron," Harry said grabbing some toast.  "Slept really well."  Harry looked between the adults and said, "So why are you all here?  Do we really need this many bodyguards?"  Molly visibly flinched when Harry calmly asked this but didn't say anything.  Harry could tell they were keeping something from him by the guilty looks on their faces.

None of them said anything even with the kids looking between them all until Remus said, "Been a slight change of plans."  Harry sat his fork down knowing this would be about him.  "Bill and Charlie are taking everyone to get their books today," Remus said causing most of the kids to let out a sigh of relief.  "But," the man continued, "Mad-Eye and Tonks will be spending the day with you and I Harry."

"What!" Ron exclaimed.  "Harry's not going?"

"I'm not going if he can't," Ginny announced drawing an agreement from Ron.

It made Harry feel worse that his friends wouldn't get a day away than it did that he couldn't go so he said, "You guys go!  You all need your books and Remus already got mine for me.  I'll be fine."

"You always say you're fine," Ginny quickly snapped.

"And I am," Harry said trying to sound like he meant it.  "C'mon it's just one day and I'll be fine.  These three can be surprisingly fun when they want to."

"I promise I'll make him have fun," Tonks said.

"We really do need to shop," Hermione said looking apologetically at Harry.

"Yeah, maybe there're all kinds of new books, huh?" Ron teased.

Harry saw the look of concern on Ginny's face so he grinned and whispered, "Remember you need robes since you've grown SO much."

Ginny's eyes got huge, her face turned red and she stammered something before leaving the table.

After more protests, the shoppers left and Harry calmly asked, "So what are we really doing?"

"Yes Remus," Molly asked looking at him suspiciously.  "What are you three doing with Harry today?"

"Actually Molly," Moody said drawing her gaze, "We're off to Hogwarts."  This caused Harry to snap to attention.  "Thought the boy may enjoy a day around the castle."  Molly couldn't say much to this and Harry didn't want to say anything and cause Remus to have to explain any more in front of the woman.

Once outside Remus held out a thin piece of rope.  "We're using a portkey to go directly to the grounds.  Better than walking from Hogsmeade.  Grab hold Harry," Remus said holding an end of rope out to Harry.  Removing his wand Remus said, "One…Two…Three…" 


	5. Hogwarts and Firewhiskey

--- Author Notes::

RLupin… I'm missing some way for Draco to show Harry he's on the good side.  None of his other friends would know but somehow Harry would know.  I actually don't like stories where Draco goes good but I have a scene at the end of Demon Connection where Harry has him do a small favor and I need some way to set it up.

Midknight:  That is a very minor part of this story.  Very minor

RossWrock:  Thanks for the name clarification.  I've updated the chapters. (I should have double-checked myself).  Glad you like the stories.

----End Author Notes

Harry felt the now familiar tug in his navel and after a swirl of confusion found himself standing just outside the main entrance to the school.  Looking around Harry found himself feeling more comfortable than he had in a long time.  A sense of contentment came over him as he gazed up at the huge castle.

"Are you ok with this Harry?" Remus asked concerned about the lack of comments from the young boy.

"It was my idea," Tonks spoke up also concerned, "I thought you'd like to be able to use magic a bit during the summer."

"It's great!" Harry announced.  "This is way better than Diagon Alley."

"Told you Remus," Tonks said leading Harry into the castle.  Remus laughed and followed the others inside.

"Where's Hagrid?  And Dumbledore?" Harry asked looking around at the vast emptiness.

"Hagrid's off on a mission," Lupin said.

"Dumbledore's at the Ministry trying to get more support," Moody added.

"Speaking of missions," Harry said turning to Remus.  "What have you been up to and how did it go?"

Lupin looked a bit nervous and glanced around.  "Tell the boy Lupin," Moody growled.  "He can keep a secret."

Harry felt his inside swell at the gruff comment by the ragged Auror.  Lupin looked at him firmly and said, "This is Order business Harry."  Harry started to protest but Lupin continued, "So you can't talk to anyone about it.  I mean anyone."

"I won't!" Harry quickly said. "I haven't talked about the prophecy or anything else."

"I'm trying to persuade other werewolves to join our side," Lupin said and this didn't really surprise Harry.  "Voldemort offers them more in the beginning but he'd just destroy them once they served their purpose."

"That's it?" Harry said.  "I figured you'd already done that."

Tonks laughed but Lupin said, "I've also been trying to establish contact with the Vampires."  Now Harry looked surprised.  "I think it's going well which is good since the giants aren't as willing to help us."

"Vampires," Harry said.  "Is there any chance I could meet one?  That'd be brilliant."

Harry heard Moody chuckle and Lupin say, "We can probably arrange that sometime.  But it won't be for a while yet.  We want to make sure about their motives first."

The group made their way to a large empty room.  "Lupin says he gave you a book of shield charms," Moody growled.  "Think you can pull a few off?"

"Yeah!  Let's go," Harry said excitedly.

"Ok, I'll be hexing you but don't worry I won't do anything Madame Pomphrey can't fix," Tonks said with an evil smile.

"Lupin and I will see if we can give any pointers," Moody said.

The first two curses Tonks fired were blocked with the Protego charm and Lupin said, "Use the new ones Harry.  You need to get used to them."

Harry tried to focus on the spells from the book Lupin had given him and found they started to come rather quickly.  He had a few that he thought would be the best and he tried these out more than the others.  There had only been a few times that he either wasn't quick enough or used an inappropriate shield for the curse and ended up on his backside.

"Let me have a go at the boy," Moody said and Harry instantly became nervous.  He knew Tonks was an Auror but Moody had been around so much more and Harry flashed to some of the curses he saw in Moody's journal and wondered if the man would use any of them.  "I won't be pulling any of these boy," Moody growled.  "Pomphrey is around if you can't keep up."  Moody had been treating Harry like an adult and he accepted this as part of it.

Moody started with some fairly powerful curses but Harry knew they weren't the fastest or most powerful and he was able to block them all without using Protego.  "I think I'm warmed up now," Moody said with an evil grin.  "Time to go past the easy stuff."

Harry was totally focused on the man now, trying to run through the various shields in his mind.  Suddenly Moody's wand flared and a red jet flew at Harry's chest.  Instantly saying the shield charm, the spell flew off and smashed into a bookcase along the wall shattering it.  Harry's eyes grew wide but Moody was already casting another spell.  It was obvious that the man wasn't messing around and Harry realized he couldn't take anything lightly.

It didn't take long before Harry was sweating and doing more than just standing there using shields.  He was moving from side to side and even diving out of the way at times.  Moody wasn't letting up and Harry was beginning to tire when he remembered a spell that could give him some time.  Right after diving to his side to avoid Moody's latest curse, Harry mumbled and quickly drew his wand from above his head towards his feet.  Instantly there was a twinkle and Harry vanished.

"What happened?" Tonks exclaimed.

"Where'd he go?" Lupin also yelled, sounding worried.  Harry heard all of this and knew the spell had worked.  He had just stepped to the side and was trying to catch his breath.  He knew that as long as he didn't cast a spell or get hit with one he should remain hidden.

"The boy's still here," Moody growled.  "He's been reading."  Just then Moody said "Aqueos" and moved his wand in an arc causing a stream of water to shoot across the room and when part of it contacted the invisible Harry, Moody instantly said another spell and before Harry could get his wand back up, he was sent flying onto his back as he became visible again.

"Bloody hell," He groaned sitting up.

"What was that Harry?" Lupin asked.  "That wasn't in the book I gave you."

"The boy's been reading my journal," Moody said helping Harry up.  "Not half bad Potter," the ragged man said giving a gnarled smile.  Harry groaned a bit but felt buoyed at what from Mad-Eye was high praise.

"It's well past noon," Lupin said smiling at Harry and then added, "Let's see if we can get something to eat."

No sooner had he said this than two 'cracks' got there attention and the small form of a couple of house-elves were standing nearby. Harry recognized one immediately as his stalker-elf Dobby but it took a moment before he recognized the other one.

"Hi Dobby!" Harry said and then turned to the other one.  "Winky is that you?"

"Yes Master Harry," the little elf squeaked.  The last time Harry had seen Winky, she was drunk, dirty and still in sorry shape since being fired. 

"You look great Winky.  What happened?" Harry saw Dobby beaming at his companion.

"We is hearing from the portraits what happened in Master Albus' office," Winky said and immediately Harry felt ashamed.  That meant Dobby and Winky knew about the tantrum he had thrown.  But this isn't what Winky was talking about.  "Winky knows that if Harry Potter can lose his Sirius and still be brave about what's to come than Winky should do better than to mope around.  There is many good Wizards that need help."

"Really?" Harry asked stunned by her announcement.

"Oh yes Harry Potter!" Dobby cheered.  "We is all talking about what happened and don't want things to be like the last time…" the little elf looked around and whispered, "You-Know-Who was around.  Winky is pulling herself together right away and says she must help Harry Potter."

Harry was embarrassed but said, "Well thanks but you don't have to do anything Winky, I'm fine."

"Master Harry is not fine!" Winky scolded.  "Harry Potter was not fine when he broke all of Master Albus' things."

"What?" Lupin exclaimed and Harry hung his head.

"The portraits scolded Master Albus for not telling Harry Potter everything earlier.  Phineas Nigellus is telling Master Albus he was lucky Harry Potter didn't use Gryffindor's sword on him," Winky angrily said.

"We is not blaming Harry Potter," Dobby said.  "All objects is almost fixed.  House-elves are helping finding parts."

"Harry," Lupin said, "is this something you'd care to share with me?"

"Ummm," Harry mumbled, "maybe later, ok?"

"Harry Potter must know that Kreacher was a bad-elf.  We is not all like that.  Winky and Dobby want to help Harry Potter take care of You-Know-Who.  We is helping good Wizards," Winky firmly said.

"Well thank you…both," Harry said.  "But right now could you mind getting us some sandwiches please?"

Dobby stepped forward proudly and said, "Dobby will take care of that sir," and with a 'crack' he was gone.

"You really look good Winky.  Hermione will be very happy when I tell her," Harry said smiling.

"Thank you sir.  Please tell Miss not to make more clothes.  Winky is getting used to being here and we know Master Albus would set us free if we want.  We is not needing to be tricked," Winky said and then vanished with a 'crack' just as Dobby reappeared with the food.

"Here is the good Wizards' food sir," Dobby said.  "Dobby is glad Harry Potter came to Hogwarts.  We was asking Master Albus if we could visit you and Dobby promised not to act like last time," the little elf said looking like he blushed.

"It was good to see you Dobby.  You've done good helping Winky," Harry said causing Dobby to blush even more.  With a few giggles the elf disappeared.

Tonks was failing at holding in her giggles but Moody asked, "What's the story with the elves?"

Harry proceeded to tell the full story of meeting Dobby and how he was freed and then also meeting Winky and how she had been ever since being freed.  It had been a refreshing way to spend some time and everyone, even Moody had laughed heartily at parts.

Harry saw the other three give each other a look but before he could ask about it Moody asked "Up for a little test Potter?"

"Sure!" Harry said feeling better than he had in quite a while.

"Have you ever had your magic fail?" Moody asked.

Harry tried to think and said, "I don't think so."

"You'd know if it did," Tonks said sounding very serious.

"We think you should see what it's like to be taxed to the limit," Lupin said looking concerned.  "Hopefully it will never come to that but if it does you'll be able to tell when you're close and try to get away."

"Ok," Harry said still not sure what this would entail.  "What do I do?"

"Put up a simple shield," Lupin said.

"And then we hex you until it fails," Tonks said making an evil face at him.

Harry didn't really like this idea, "I just stand there until I can't block any more?"

"I knew you were a smart boy," Moody said shaking his head.  "Move over there," he said pointing to an open area.

"I've put a cushioning charm on the wall so you shouldn't get hurt," Lupin said.

"Yeah," Harry thought as he remembered how hard Snape flew back when he, Ron, and Hermione hit the Potions Professor at the same time in the Shrieking Shack.  Slowly Harry walked to the open area and turned to face the three adults ready to curse him.  Of the three, only Lupin showed any sign of reluctance about what they were going to do.

Harry raised his wand and firmly said, "Protego!" and saw the shimmer of a shield form around him.  The others didn't waste any time and quickly began cursing him.  Harry felt the impact of each curse but also saw them dissipate around the protective shell.  After a few minutes Harry could feel a slight pull seeming to come from within him whenever a spell impacted with his shield.  He knew this was far longer than he had every held a shield before so didn't know if this was normal or not.  A few more minutes of deflecting spells now made it feel like the breath was being pulled out of him each time he was hit and physically he was starting to feel tired and winded.  Now Harry was starting to feel some of the effect of the curses even though his shield was still standing.  He felt Tonk's 'expelliarmus' pull on his wand and the 'stupefy' from Moody cause him to pause for a second.  The sensation of loosing his breath was very forceful now and when the next salvo of spells hit him, his wand flew from his hand and he went sailing back against the wall.  Lupin's cushioning charm worked and kept him from being hurt but he still felt like he couldn't catch his breath.

"Ok there Harry?" Lupin asked as he stepped forward.  Harry held up a hand to show he was ok as he began to breathe normally again.

"I assume there was a good reason for three adults to be attacking one of my students?" the stern voice of Professor McGonagall grabbed everyone's attention.  Her lips were pursed as she glared at the adults in the room.

"Ah…yes…Professor," Lupin said sounding very much like a student just caught breaking rules.  "We wanted to give Harry a day out while his friends are in Diagon Alley."

"And you think being hexed compares to a day shopping?" the Professor asked.

"It's been fun Professor," Harry said now standing but breathing deeply.  "I've got to practice a lot and now I know how it feels to have my magic fail."

"I see," McGonagall said raising an eyebrow at Lupin.  There was silence until she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Well?"

"Oh!" Tonks said and smiled brightly, "Over ten minutes."

McGonagall looked between the three and stopped on Moody who added, "All of us…nonstop."  McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"How do you feel Potter?" McGonagall asked, now looking at Harry.

"Fine Professor," Harry added.  "I agreed to do this, don't be upset at them.  This has been a great day."

"If you say so," McGonagall gave him an unsure look.  "I was about to owl this to you but overheard the portraits saying you were here."  She handed a small envelope to Harry who didn't directly open it.  "Well open it," she snapped.

Harry tore the envelope open and out dropped a small shining 'Captain' pin.  Holding the pin he looked up confused at his Professor.  "Yes Potter that's the captain's badge.  Congratulations," she said with the slightest twitch of a smile.

"Quidditch captain?  Me?   I didn't even play last year," Harry said.

McGonagall turned sour and said, "Yes last year…Well many mistakes were made last year but this isn't last year.  Do you wish to be captain or not?"

"Well…Yeah!  Thank you," Harry said smiling brightly.

"I'm quite accustomed to having the trophy in my office and trust you will assure it stays there," she said trying to look menacing.

"Of course!  I'll do my best," Harry said still staring at the badge.

"Well then I'll leave you to your…fun…" McGonagall said with a glance at the others and then left.

"Congratulations Harry," Lupin said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Way to go Harry," Tonks said messing his hair.  "The Prophet's favorite wizard, Quidditch Captain.  You'll need to practice some repelling charms," she added with a smile.  "Except for a certain Slytherin….huh?"

"Do you have time for this boy?" Moody growled.  "Seems to me you're one big target out there."

"Moody!" Tonks said and even Lupin looked shocked.

"I have time," Harry snapped.  "I can handle it.  I'm not giving up Quidditch for anything, and I'll make time to practice my spells."

"Good," Moody said.  "You need to have some balance.  All worrying about spells will leave you … well like me," he said sounding serious.

"Let's buy Harry a butterbeer before we head back," Tonks suggested.

"Bit risky don't you think?" Moody replied.

"C'mon," Harry said.  "You can't keep me locked up forever.  Next July I start doing what I want."

"Yes well it's not next July yet Harry," Lupin firmly said.  "However a quick celebration shouldn't be too much of a risk," he added looking at Moody.  "Three Broomsticks is out, he's too well known there….Hog's Head may work."

The three made their way to town and Lupin made Harry put his hood up as they made their way to the dingy Hog's Head pub.  Entering the dark room Harry saw the same somewhat familiar bartender and saw Moody give the man a slight nod as they made their way to a booth in back.  There were only two other people at a side booth and Harry wasn't sure one of them was really a person.  Moody made Harry sit on the side of the table facing the wall so it would be less likely he would be recognized.  After sitting down, Tonks said, "I'll get the drinks.  Three firewhiskeys and one butterbeer."

"Why don't I get a firewhiskey?  It's my celebration," Harry snapped.

"Because you're not of age Harry," Lupin calmly said.  "Besides Molly Weasley would have my hide."

"Afraid of the woman are you?" Moody chided.

"Ah...well he still isn't of age," Lupin replied.

"And when, do tell, did you have your first real drink?  And was it around responsible adults such as us?" Tonks asked with a wink at Harry.

"Yeah Remus," Harry joined in, "when did you have your first drink?"

Lupin looked at each person and said, "Fine…four drinks.  Don't expect this to be totally pleasant Harry."

Tonks returned and sat down next to Harry pushing the glasses in front of each person.  Each glass was the size of a small tumbler and gave off a deep red glow with yellow and blue flames spring up from the top.  "Now there's only one right way to drink firewhiskey Harry," Tonks said.  "Better to learn now than at Auror training.  They tend to put rookies into…compromising positions," she added and Harry thought he saw a blush.  "Maybe when you tell me how things go with the Slytherin I'll spill the story," she added and Harry laughed.  "Now you take the glass and swirl it around to get the flames going," she said demonstrating and watching the flames get larger.  "Then you take a deep breath, down the drink in one shot and breathe out through your nose.  When you get good you can get the flames down to the table."

Harry's eyes were huge as he said, "We're going to breathe fire?  Wicked!"

"Remember breathe in before you drink," Moody said.  "Many a man was sent to St. Mungo's when they fried their lungs."

Now Harry was concerned until Tonks laughed and said, "About as many as lost their buttocks in wand accidents Moody."  Lupin snorted at this as well.

"Ok, after this if I find out you've been drinking this until you're of age, I'll turn into the werewolf form of Mrs. Weasley," Lupin said looking like he meant it.

"Ready," Tonks said, "One…" they all started swirling, "…Two…Three!"  Harry took a deep breath, tossed the flaming contents of the glass down his throat and nearly spat it back at Moody who was sitting across from him.  Somehow he kept it down and actually felt like he was going to explode.  He then caught the flames come out of Tonks' nose and remembered the next part.  Pushing the air out of his nose he saw two streams of bright flames extend a good four inches.  He was almost afraid to breathe in but finally gave in and gasped in a lung full of air.  His eyes were watering and his hand was up to his throat.

"Good job boy.  You kept it down," Moody said.  "Maybe you got that from your father as well."

"Nope," Lupin said smiling.  "James would have spewed it all over you Moody.  Now Lily…She could shoot it to the table."

"My mom!" Harry exclaimed.

"Hey, we women are just as good as you blokes," Tonks' said acting hurt.

"Yes your mom," Lupin said.  "It annoyed James and Sirius to no end.  She couldn't drink much but had a natural talent for shooting fire."  Lupin caught Harry's eye and they nodded to each other at the thought of Sirius.

"So what do you think?  Better than butterbeer?" Tonks asked.

"It must be something you have to get used to," he said still sounding a bit throaty.

"Well congratulations on making Captain Harry," Lupin said.  "You should savor the good moments.  There may be more times you can't do things with your friends.  You don't want them to be in any more danger do you?"

Harry hung his head and felt bad that his friends were targets because of him.  "No," he softly said.  "I understand.  I wish they had never been in danger because of me."

"They'd have other things to say if you ask them," Tonks said.  "Can't imagine they'd swap being your friend for anything.  You all make a good team."  Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

After a moment of silence Lupin said, "Why don't you tell us exactly what happened in Dumbledore's office."  Harry hesitated and Lupin added, "It won't leave this table."

Harry thought for a moment and with the warmth of the firewhiskey felt a little more open so he said, "Ok, after one more firewhiskey."

Moody snorted and Tonks ruffled his hair but Lupin didn't look convinced.  "You will regret this in the morning Harry."  When Harry continuing matching the man's stare Lupin said, "Don't say I didn't warn you."  Lupin got up headed to the bar.

"Don't make this a habit Harry," Tonks said leaning in.  "Any respectable Witch won't want a blithering drunk."  She leaned closer and whispered, "If you need any tips on dealing with the Slytherin you can ask.  I'm not sure Remus is the best source of that kind of information."

Moody snorted and shocked Tonks since she thought she was being quiet.  "Just don't ask her for tips on sneaking around boy.  She probably got caught every time."

Lupin arrived and slid the drinks in front of everyone.  "Don't blame me tomorrow," Lupin said and Tonks did the countdown again.  This time Harry didn't hesitate after drinking and shot the flames an extra couple inches.  Not matching Tonks but further than his first try.  He still couldn't imagine anyone enjoying the taste of this but he did like the way it made him feel so warm inside.

"The story," Lupin said and once Harry got his voice back he slowly started recounting everything that happened from the time he took off after Bellatrix.  He left out the part about wanting to die when Voldemort first arrived.  Harry could tell that whatever they had heard from Dumbledore wasn't exactly the same as his version since they seemed shocked by some things.  Once the story shifted to Dumbledore's office they all had pained expressions but didn't interrupt Harry's story.  Harry had run that episode over in his mind so many times that he was sure he accurately told the story.

At the end Harry hung his head and there was silence until the Tonks' choked voice announced she was going for more drinks and Lupin didn't raise any objections. It was still silent when she got back and no one touched the drinks for a moment.  Finally Moody took his drink and said, "To Sirius."  Harry saw Lupin and Tonks pick their glasses up and he followed suit.  "To Sirius," the three said and without countdown they all downed the drinks and snorted fire onto the table.

Without further reservations, the four sat around the table and told stories about Sirius and other friends.  Some of the things that stuck with Harry were how some great friendships and relationships had been formed during the first war and how many were still strong today.  This gave him some sliver of hope that life could still be enjoyable.

It ended up being very late when the four decided to leave the dingy pub.  Moody made Harry pull up his hood and they made their way into the dark streets of Hogsmeade.  Harry felt happy but very unsteady.  This was the first time he had stood since arriving and couldn't understand why his legs weren't working correctly.  Tonks kept laughing at him but she wasn't that much better than he was.  Moody and Remus were the only ones who seemed relatively unaffected.  Moody seemed to talk more and Remus smiled a little more than normal but they both appeared to be in full control of their actions.

"Are we taking back portkey?" Harry slurred.

"Ha!  You can't right talk," Tonks said punching Harry in the arm.

Remus shook his head and said, "No we won't take the portkey.  You two would probably hurt yourself on the landing.  I'll get the Knight Bus."  Lupin stuck out his wand hand and a second later there was a loud 'crack' and the large vehicle appeared in front of them.

Remus got on first and looked around before giving the ok for Harry and Tonks to get on.  "Blimey Stan!  It's little 'Arry…." Ern started to say before Tonks had her wand at his throat. 

"Say his name and it will be the last sound you make," she snarled surprisingly clearly.

"Call me Neville, Ern," Harry said shaking the man's hand.

"Right 'A…Neville.  Don't want no one to bother you," he said.

A couple came up behind Moody who was starting to step into the bus and he turned and growled, "It's full.  Take the next one."  He turned to the driver and said, "Ottery St. Catchpole.  No stops in between."

"Um…Yes…sir," Ern said and then told Stan.

"Here Ern," Harry slurred.  "For the trip.  We need chocolate," Harry dumped some coins into the young man's hand causing him to smile brightly.

Harry and Tonks kept singing little tunes during the trip which didn't last long at all.  They stepped off the bus, waving goodbye to Stan and Ern and walked up the drive to the Burrow.  Before they got half way, Tonks stopped, kissed Harry on the cheek and said, "Remember I've got a few secrets I'd be willing to let you in on."  Harry was glad it was dark because he really enjoyed being so close to the woman.  Tonks straightened up and said, "I think I'll just head on home."

"We're all going up!" Moody snapped.  "Present a united front."  He reached inside his cloak, seeming to fumble around a bit and then handed Harry a vial.  "Drink this before you go to bed.  It'll help."

"That's cheating!" Tonks said.

"C'mon, time to face the music," Remus said leading the group on up the lane.

Just before they got to the door it flew open and they heard, "Where HAVE you been?"  Molly Weasley was standing there in full 'angry mother' mode.  "You were gone ALL DAY!  We were worried."  Harry could see Ron and the twin's faces peering through the window watching with huge eyes.

Remus pushed Harry in front and said, "Love to stay Molly but we need to…."

"Report in," Moody added.

"Bye Harry," Tonks said before the three vanished with pops.

"YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed just as the adults were vanishing.  Harry was now thoroughly scared at being left alone with the angry lady.  He had seen her go off on the other Weasley boys and that was scary enough.

"Drinking?" Harry heard from inside and saw more eyes at the window.  Mrs. Weasley had started pushing the still unsteady Harry into the house.  He immediately saw his friends and the twins standing around staring at him in shock.

"Hi guys!" Harry said waving at his friends who's mouths were now hanging open.

"Where were you?  We were so worried?" Molly asked loudly. 

Harry looked at the faces of the people watching and said, "Hog…Hogwarts."

"You were drinking at Hogwarts?" George exclaimed and Fred followed with "Brilliant!"  The two were looking at him in full appreciation of what he'd been doing.

"What were you drinking?" Ron asked drawing a glare from his mother.

"Firewhiskey," Harry said with a large smile recalling the evening.

"Firewhiskey!" Fred and George both exclaimed looking even prouder.  "Did you shoot it?" George added.

"Yeah!" Harry exclaimed, "Eight inches!"

"Bloody Hell!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ok you two!" Molly rounded on the twins.  "Time to leave.  NO arguments."

"It was good knowing you mate," George said.  "Yeah, we'll put your share of our shop to good use," Fred added before they vanished.

"How COULD you?" Molly exclaimed turning back to Harry.  "We were worried to death?  You know what you mean to me…to everyone," the woman yelled almost shaking.

Harry felt terrible and turned to see Hermione also scowling at him and Ron looking like he wanted to laugh.  When he caught Ginny's eyes she mouthed something and when he didn't get it, she mouthed it again.  Harry got it that time and turned back to Molly and softly said, "I'm sorry…mom."

This had the desired effect as Mrs. Weasley got stiff as a board.  Hermione gave a small gasp and Ron's jaw dropped.  Molly quickly engulfed Harry into a tight hug and said, "I'm sorry I yelled dear.  You were just gone longer than we expected.  You've got so much to deal with."

"I'm really sorry," Harry said honestly meaning it and trying not to slur.

Molly sniffed, wiped her eyes and said, "I'm sure you are but tomorrow you'll be even sorrier.  You'll feel horrible and I won't be able to help you much.  You three make him drink some tea…I'm going to bed."  The woman turned and could still be heard sniffing as she climbed the stairs.

Harry finally let out the breath he was holding and stumbled back against the counter.  "You're brilliant," Harry said to Ginny who smiled proudly.

"I knew she couldn't resist that," Ginny said moving to stand next to Harry.

"You told him to call her mom?" Hermione snarled.  "How could you?"

"C'mon Hermione," Ron said laughing.  "You saw her.  She loved that."

Harry took a couple unsure steps and managed to plant himself in a chair at the table.  "Let me get you some tea," Ginny offered.

"Don't have to Gin," Harry said softly placing his hand on her arm causing her to stop instantly.  "What?" he asked not knowing what he had done wrong.

"What did you call me?" she asked seeming to blush.

"Ummm.. Gin.  Sorry.  Thought it was cute," Harry said with a small chuckle as he removed his hand.

"It was," she said turning back to make tea.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances at Harry actually talking.  "So what did you do all day?" Ron asked.

"It was great!" Harry said.  "Went to Hogwarts and did shield charms all day."

"You got to use magic?"  Hermione said.  "I would have loved to do that."

"But you needed books," Ron said.

"Oh yeah Hermione," Harry said.  "I saw Winky.  She looks good.  Not drinking or anything."

"Unlike someone else," Ginny said sitting the tea down.

"Had to learn sometime didn't I?" Harry said winking at Ginny which shocked her.  "May as well learn from those three…cowards!" he added with a snort.  "It was great," he admitted shaking his head. "We talked about Sirius, Quidditch and everything."

"You mean they talked and you listened," Hermione said.

"I talked!" Harry said.  "I can be quite a good conv…convers…conversat..talker," he added sipping his tea while the others laughed at him.

"So what was said about Sirius?" Hermione asked drawing a concerned look from Ron who was used to Harry being very touchy about his godfather.

"Told stories, heard things from Lupin about school," Harry sighed and almost missed his mouth with the next sip of tea.  "It was great."

"Did you talk about why everyone's so worried about you?  You know about what's going on?" Hermione asked and Ron realized what she was doing.

"Oh yeah, that," Harry said only withdrawing slightly.  "They know…" Harry got a strange feeling that he should be talking about this and said, "Um…everyone's just worried.  No big deal."  After another sip he asked, "How was Diagon Alley?"

Ron chuckled at the look on Hermione's face.  She thought she could capitalize on Harry's talkative mood.  "It was good to get out," Ginny said.  "The twin's shop is brilliant."

"Yeah mate you'll love it," Ron said.  "Of course most of our time was at the bookstore."

"We needed new books Ron!" Hermione snapped.

"Got free ice cream at Fortescue's," Ginny said.  "He felt bad you were bothered earlier and knew we're your friends."

"'Bout time we get some compensation for it," Ron joked causing Harry to laugh loudly.  The other three smiled at each other at seeing Harry like this.

"Saw Malfoy," Ron said.  "Bloody git."

Harry instantly focused on that.  "What'd the little ferret do?  I'm not putting up with him this year."

"It's ok Harry," Hermione said.  "Just normal Malfoy.  Of course he's not getting as much respect now with his father being an escaped Death Eater but he's still arrogant."

"I think he's afraid of Ginny," Ron said proudly.  "Slunk away when she threatened him."

"Good!  He should be," Harry said smiling at Ginny as he lightly punched her in the arm causing her to blush far more than normal.

Ron started going into detail about their day and soon Harry was nodding off.  When Hermione saw this she said, "Harry…Maybe you should go to bed.  You're probably not going to feel well tomorrow."

"Huh?"  Harry said and then remembered something and began rummaging in his pocked.  "Here it is," he said holding up a small vial of blue liquid.  "Moody said to drink this before I go to bed," Harry said as he grimaced as the liquid went down his throat.

"Was it horrible?" Ron asked.

"Almost as bad as firewhiskey," Harry joked as he turned back and said, "Goodnight good friends."  And with a wave he slowly made his way up the stairs.

"Why can't he be happy like that all the time," Ginny said frowning.

"I thought he was going to spill it," Hermione added.

"Even totally snockered Harry won't give up his secrets," Ron said smiling.


	6. Back to School

Harry woke up the next morning face down, still fully dressed and feeling slightly disoriented.  He didn't feel horrible, just strange, like something wasn't quite right with his brain.  A bit wobbly when he tried to stand, Harry noticed Ron was already gone.  He found his way to the bathroom and took a shower which helped a lot, then threw on some clothes and headed downstairs moving slower than normal.

At the bottom of the stairs he saw that Ron, Hermione and Ginny were still sitting at the table talking.  Harry made his way to Mrs. Weasley who jumped when she noticed him.  "You startled me dear.  You're up sooner than I expected.  Do you regret your actions now?"

"Yes Mrs. Weasley," Harry said and saw the woman stiffen when he called her that.  Harry remembered what had happened; it was just coming to him slowly.  "I'm really sorry that we didn't tell you we'd be out late.  I won't let it happen again.  You shouldn't have to worry about me."

"Dear boy," she said hugging him.  "You're not used to being around people who care.  It's ok.  Sit down, there's some breakfast left."

Harry sat down and Ron asked, "Feel ok mate?"

"A little woozy but not too bad," Harry admitted.

"You owe Mad-Eye for that," Hermione said still not happy with him.

"Or Ginny and her tea," Ron said smiling drawing glances from Hermione and Ginny.

Harry wouldn't talk much about the previous day and kept deflecting questions.  Ron wanted him to fly around but Harry wasn't feeling totally stable and just decided to read his books sitting across from Hermione while Ginny and Ron flew around. 

The next few days went along without hitch.  Harry flew with Ron and Ginny but also spent time reading his books.  He had felt empowered ever since Moody was pleased he had used a spell from the journal and had committed himself to memorizing as much as possible.  The night started normally enough with Harry's common dream of Sirius asking him for help but once Harry got back to sleep after that dream he started twitching and felt the prickly sensation in his scar.  He felt the burn in his scar and caught a brief flash of a large expanse of snow with a huge castle set out in the middle of nowhere.  The emotion he felt was apprehension again but also pleasure.  When Harry tried to focus on the image his scar burned even more than normal.

Harry snapped awake and knew he needed to inform Professor Dumbledore.  Normally he would send Hedwig but living at the Burrow were two members of the Order so Harry silently stepped out of his bedroom, taking care not to wake Ron and plodded down to Mr. & Mrs. Weasley's room.  Knocking lightly he said, "Mr. Weasley?"

It took two more tries until he heard, "Um…Who's there?"

"It's Harry Mr. Weasley.  I've had a dream…vision and I think Professor Dumbledore should know," Harry felt bad bothering them but didn't want to wait until Hedwig could get to the Headmaster.

"Of course Harry.  Just a minute," Harry heard and then both Mr. & Mrs. Weasley came into the hall.  "Let's go to the kitchen."

Once there Harry explained the vision and the description of the castle as well as he could.  "I'm pretty sure it was a bit of his feelings and vision. This isn't like a normal nightmare.  I can send Hedwig if you don't think it's important."

"Of course it's important dear," Molly said.  "Arthur will inform Albus immediately." 

"You did good Harry.  This is important," Arthur said as he headed back upstairs.

Harry sat there with Mrs. Weasley for a moment and then said, "I'm really sorry to get you all involved in this.  I wish your family could just be left alone."

"Oh dear," Molly said resting her hand on his.  "You are family.  The legal description doesn't matter to us.  We wouldn't have it any other way.  I just wish you didn't have to be involved.  You deserve better."

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley.  Ron was my first friend.  You all have been so great to me and it seems like I just keep bringing you problems," Harry said dropping his head.

"Nonsense!  We would support Albus even if you had never met Ronald," Molly said.  "We're all in the middle of this now and will just have to watch out for each other."  Harry nodded and she said, "Have you told anyone about the prophecy?"

"No," Harry admitted.  "I hate keeping secrets but they worry about me so much already.  That would just be too much."

"Well…" she said, "I won't say anything of course and normally I wouldn't want any of the children to think about it.  But, it may help if you talk to them about it."

"I don't know," Harry said.  "I'll think about it."

"When we get out of all of this," Molly said, "you will always have a home here.  Don't ever feel like you won't have a home."

"Thank you," Harry said.  "That really means a lot."

There were another few minutes of silence and then Mrs. Weasley said, "I suppose neither of us will get back to sleep so I may as well start breakfast."

It turned out that Durmstrang had been attacked and a large portion of the castle had been destroyed.  The attack had come as a surprise to everyone since Durmstrang was considered one of the schools most aligned with the Dark Arts.  This news made Harry withdraw into his own thoughts even more and he wouldn't fly with Ron and Ginny, spending all of his time reading.

There was a meeting of the Order at the Burrow one night which meant Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry were sequestered upstairs and much to their chagrin, charms prevented the Extendable Ears from picking anything up.  The four were upstairs complaining about being shutout when Bill came up, "Harry, they want to see you."

"What about us?" Ron exclaimed.

"They figure you'll find out anyway so you can come," Bill said shaking his head as the four quickly ran downstairs. 

It was a full meeting and the kitchen had been magically expanded so that everyone could fit.  The four kids entered with Harry in the lead and except for Harry seemed nervous.  Harry quickly moved next to Remus and stood waiting.

"Well Harry, you're information helped prevent a full takeover of Durmstrang," Dumbledore said looking tired but please none the less.  "We were able to alert friends and prevent the worst."

"Wasn't Occlumency supposed to prevent this?" Hermione asked.

"No Miss Granger," Dumbledore responded.  "This is not Voldemort forcibly entering Harry's mind.  This is more Harry entering his.  Unintentionally of course but entering the same.  When Harry focused on the details Voldemort realized what was happening and shut him out causing the pain."   Everyone looked at Harry but he just watched his hands.  "This has been very beneficial but we could find ways to prevent it if Harry desires," the old Wizard said looking at Harry.

"No!" Harry quickly exclaimed.  "I mean if this isn't him controlling me than it's a good thing.  These dreams have been the least painful in a long time.  If it helps, I don't want to stop them."

Molly shook her head but Dumbledore said, "I hoped you would say that Harry.  The problem is timely communication of the information.  We have come up with a journal."  Dumbledore pushed a worn journal to Harry.  "This will allow instant communication between that journal and another.  If you would write down the details of any dream, a member of the Order would be immediately notified and could read what you write."

Harry looked at the journal and thought that sounded good.  "How will I be sure when to write things down?"

"Unless you've kept things from us already, you've done well so far," Dumbledore said smiling.  "But we would like you to err on the side of caution.  Any doubts….record them."

Harry nodded but then thought for a second and then asked, "Who will it alert?"

"Professor Snape will have the brother," Dumbledore said and Harry's mood sank.  "He is in the best position to evaluate the information."

Harry felt uncomfortable with this and obviously the others could tell.  It was Snape that spoke next, "I can assure you I won't take pleasure in your pathetic adolescent dreams Potter."

Harry saw Lupin stiffen up.  Harry took a stand and said, "I don't want to use it sir."

"What?" Snape said and began to say something else before the Headmaster said, "Why is that Harry?"

"I don't want Snape to know about my dreams and every time I've tried to tell him something important he delayed until it's been too late," Harry said not looking at the Potions Master.

"I can't help it if your information is full of confusing details Potter," Snape spat.

"I told you I needed to see Professor Dumbledore when Mr. Crouch had been hurt but you wouldn't let me.  Maybe Crouch would have lived if you hadn't stopped me!" Harry exclaimed.

"Why you?" Snape spat but Harry continued.  "You could have stopped us being led to the Ministry last year but you chose to make Umbridge happy.  You wanted us to go!"

"Just because you're so arrogant…" Snape started but was cut off.

"Harry," Dumbledore firmly said cutting off all conversation.  "This information is very important to us and I can assure you we will act upon it immediately."

Harry thought for a moment and hated what he was about to say but he firmly said, "No."

"No!  No!  Who are you to say no?" Snape, who was now standing spat.  Tonks and Moody had both moved around to stand next to Remus who was right behind Harry.

"They're MY dreams.  Mine!  If you were such a good spy, you should know these things before me.  Why does it take my dreams to reveal what you should be finding out?" Harry snapped back.  Ron and Hermione were standing there shocked but Ginny had moved next to Tonks and looked like she was about ready to hex Professor Snape herself.

"Enough!" Dumbledore firmly announced.  "Is there no way you will do this Harry?  It is very important."

"Let someone else have the other journal.  I don't care who as long as it's not him," Harry said with an evil look at Professor Snape.

"I'll do it Headmaster," Professor McGonagall who was standing off to the side so much Harry hadn't noticed her.  "If that is acceptable to Mr. Potter."

Dumbledore looked at Harry and he quickly said, "Of course!  I trust Professor McGonagall."

"Very well," Dumbledore said handing the other journal to Professor McGonagall.  "Thank you for agreeing to this.  Would you four mind stepping out so we can continue our meeting?"

Once the door was shut behind them Hermione grabbed Harry and said, "Harry!  He's still our Professor!"

"I don't care Hermione," Harry said getting irritated thinking about Snape.  "I don't trust him and never will."

Hermione started to say something but Ron put his hand on her arm and said, "Hermione…They're Harry's dreams.  If they were mine I wouldn't want Snape knowing them either."  And Hermione let it drop with this comment.

Harry turned in total shock to Ginny who just shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter now.  Professor McGonagall can get a message to Dumbledore if necessary."

The friends moved to a couch in the living room and tried to figure out what else the Order could be discussing.  The meeting broke up about an hour later and many members came out to talk to the four. Hermione tried her best to get people to let things slip about what's going on with Harry.

Harry was trying to make his way to the stairs so he could be alone again.  He hated when he got so angry, it made him feel like he couldn't control his actions.  He was just to the landing when he heard, "May we see you for a moment Harry?"  Dumbledore was standing in the doorway.  Harry hung his head and came back down to his headmaster.  His sense of dread increased when he noticed Professor Snape standing behind the old wizard.

Snape was the only one in the room with the Headmaster and Harry didn't meet the man's evil gaze as he entered.  He heard Dumbledore begin to shut the door and then heard, "I'd like to sit in.  If you don't mind."  Remus Lupin had just put his hand to stop the closing door.

"Your presence won't be necessary Lupin," Snape snarled.

"We are just going to see how Harry is coming with Occlumency Remus," Dumbledore softly said.

"Good idea," Lupin said stepping by the old wizard and moving next to Harry.  "But I'll be taking a more active role where Harry's concerned," the man said squeezing Harry's shoulder.  Normally this would irritate Harry since he felt like he could take care of himself but this time it only gave him more confidence.

Dumbledore nodded and finished closing the door.  "Severus has …concerns about Harry hearing Order information."

"Since the boy has consistently let The Dark Lord into his mind, they are valid concerns.  We can't have private information getting into the wrong hands," Snape said with a sneer at Harry.

"I suppose it's up to you to decide what Voldemort finds out," Harry spat back causing the Potions Master to take a step forward.

"No one wants Voldemort to learn things we aren't ready for him to know," Dumbledore calmly said.  "And having someone as talented in Legilimens as Professor Snape test you would be very useful."

Harry shrugged and said, "He can test me.  I'm not afraid of him."  Truth was Harry was a bit afraid since he had never successfully kept the man out of his thoughts before.

"Very well then," Dumbledore said, "Sev…"

Before Dumbledore could finish, Harry was hit with the curse from Professor Snape.  Harry had never felt anything quite like it before.  Whereas the Headmaster's technique had been to slide into his thoughts, he was prepared for Snape's direct approach, but not for how severe it was.  His mind was suffering a direct assault and it took a moment for him to even realize what was happening, but as soon as he did, the training he had been doing paid off and he mentally erected a wall around the information he wanted to keep private.  He could feel the attack continuing, almost like some giant creature pounding on the barrier into his innermost thoughts but the more Harry relaxed and let the automatic defenses take over, the easier it became.  He could tell by the ferocity of the attack that Professor Snape was desperately trying to break through but it was now a simple thing to keep the intrusion out.

Harry felt a surge of accomplishment.  He was now not struggling, had built a wall around his thoughts and for the first time he really felt it was being tested.  Dumbledore never seemed to force anything, preferring to slide in through any crack but Snape preferred to bash down the walls and Harry's walls were holding. Harry actually cracked a smile, a genuine smile at this accomplishment.  The look on Snape's face said it all, his effort was obvious and Harry was withstanding it easily.

Harry didn't know how long he stood there staring at the Potion's Master.  He didn't care.  It wasn't until Dumbledore's voice interrupted the assault that Harry gave up staring down the man trying to break into his mind.  "Well Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

Professor Snape took a moment to collect himself and said, "Potter has evidently improved slightly.  He still shouldn't be allowed to know our information."

"I stopped him!" Harry exclaimed.  "He didn't see anything!"

Dumbledore raised his hands and said, "I am aware of that Harry."  Snape looked astonished at this statement.  "Severus," Dumbledore calmly said, "I am also sufficiently trained in Legilimens to know when Harry is being truthful or not."

Harry instantly felt grateful that he didn't directly lie about things to the Headmaster.  He would, on occasion not be totally truthful, but he never directly told untruths.  "I have no doubt that Harry will only reveal what he chooses to reveal," Dumbledore said and then turned to Harry and Remus.  "I understand you had a…stimulating outing the other day?"

Harry began to speak but Lupin interrupted and said, "We worked on Harry's shield charms."

"Yes, I heard," Dumbledore said with a knowing twinkle.  "Over ten minutes, was it?"  Lupin nodded.  "The outing in the Hog's Head was also not exactly subdued now was it?"

Harry's eyes got wide and he also thought he felt Lupin stiffen a little, but the man said, "We had a small celebration."

"And then two Aurors and a werewolf left a sixteen year old boy to deal with a very angry Molly Weasley on his own," Dumbledore said smiling, leaving Snape wondering about the whole thing.

Harry now was beginning to smile, even with Professor Snape in the room.  "The whole day was great sir," Harry said, causing Snape to mumble something and leave the room.

"That's good to hear," Dumbledore said.  "However as you have no doubt realized; things that go on in Hog's Head are not exactly as private as you would think."  The man looked intently at Harry and said, "You are being watched closely Harry, and not just by our side.  Please remember that."  The old wizard nodded and left the room also.

"I hope you didn't mind me sitting in on this Harry," Lupin said.  "It's not that I didn't think you could handle it, it's just that…well…"

"It's ok Remus.  I was glad you were here," Harry said, relieving Remus from having to explain.

Two days later Harry came downstairs after a particularly uncomfortable night in which his dream of Sirius begging for help was particularly disturbing only to be bombarded with questions from most of the people who were already up, "Why didn't you tell us?"  "Do we get to go with you?"

Harry tried listening to each person but didn't have a clue what they were talking about. "What?  What are you all talking about?" Harry asked.

"The award!" Ron said.

Seeing his lost look Hermione added, "The Scarlet Cross!  Today's the presentation."

"Yeah, why didn't you tell us?" Ginny asked.

It took another minute before Harry realized what they were talking about.  It had been so long ago that he totally forgot about the parchment he received from the Ministry earlier this year.  "I forgot about it," Harry said.

"How could you forget about it?" Ron exclaimed.  "This is a major deal."

"No it's not!" Harry snapped.  "I'm not going.  I told Remus a long time ago.  They just want to use me for publicity."

"Harry," Hermione said, "this says there is a ceremony today at 11:00."

"I don't care what the Prophet says," Harry replied.  "I'm not going."

"Fudge will go spare when you don't show," Ron said smiling.  "I wish we could see it."

"I don't care about Fudge," Harry said snapping up some toast.  "It's his own fault."

The friends dropped the subject but watched Harry closely as he ate.  After breakfast the three were outside when Fred and George appeared.  "Hello you lot!" George said.

"What are you two doing here?" Ron questioned.

"Had a note from Dumbledore," Fred said.  "Wanted us to spend a couple hours here for some reason," George added.

"Who's running the store?" Harry asked.

"Lee," George responded.  "No worries there."

The group of kids were talking about why Dumbledore would want the two there when suddenly three 'cracks' got their attention.  Percy and two unknown men had apparated near the Burrow. 

Harry and Hermione looked shocked but the Weasley boys were furious and all stood up.  Ron was about to say something when the back door of the Burrow opened and they heard, "Percy!  I thought….I….What are you doing here?"  Mrs. Weasley quickly approached and planned on giving her son a hug when his expression stopped her.

"On official business," Percy coldly replied causing Molly to look devastated and also causing the boys to get even more furious.

"You're not welcome here!" Ron yelled and was backed up by Fred and George.  Harry just watched the exchange feeling bad that some of this was about him.

"We'll be gone presently," Percy replied.  "We've come to escort Harry to the ceremony."

"I'm not going!" Harry said standing.  "They knew that a long time ago."

"You don't have to go dear," Molly said and then turned to Percy.  "Harry's not leaving the Burrow."

"I have my instructions mother," Percy smugly said.  "We're here to escort Harry to the ceremony.  He'll be safe with us."

"What part of he's not leaving don't you understand?" Ron said advancing on Percy.

"You children should step away," one of the men with Percy said.  "We don't want anyone to accidentally get hurt."

Fred and George both stepped closer with their hands on their wands and George said, "If anyone gets hurt, it won't be an accident."

"I think you should leave Percy," Molly said almost shaking with a mix of apprehension and anger.

"The Minister wants Harry at the ceremony and we're here to take him," Percy firmly said.

"Doesn't it matter what I want?" Harry snapped.

Percy's eyes narrowed and he said, "It matters what the Minister wants.  Let's go Harry."

In unison, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron all raised their wands.  "You lot have no idea how much trouble you'll be in," one of the men said.

"We took on a dozen Death Eaters earlier this year.  You two and our git of a brother won't be any trouble," Ron confidently said.

"I don't want you guys in trouble," Harry said stepping forward.  "I can go with them."

Molly grabbed his shoulder and said, "You'll do no such thing."  She turned to the men with her wand out and said, "Now you three get off my property now."

"Mother," Percy pleaded.  "The Minister will be very unhappy."

"Goodbye Percy," Molly said looking at her son with a pained expression.  The three men vanished.

"I'm sorry," Harry said.  "Now you guys will be in more trouble because of me."

"Don't you think about it Harry," Molly said clearly upset.  "This is Fudge's doing."

"Dumbledore must have expected something like this," Hermione said.  "That's why he sent you two over."

"Very good Hermione," Kingsley said stepping from around the Burrow followed by Tonks who didn't look happy at all.  "We've been watching as well in case things got out of hand.  Don't want to publicly come out against the man until we have no choice."

"This is going to make Fudge look like an idiot," Fred said.  "Can't believe Percy's still supporting the git," George added.  At hearing her son's name, Molly turned and walked back to the Burrow.

"We'll be around for a bit longer," Tonks said, "In case they come back."  She and Kingsley moved back to the side of the Burrow.

"Thanks guys," Harry said heartened by the show of support.

"You'd do the same for us mate," Ron quickly said and was supported by the others.

"I'm going to pop over to the ceremony and see how they handle this," Fred said and then vanished.

Later, Fred came back and described the fiasco to everyone.  It seems Fudge had assembled every Wizarding paper and magazine in Britain with the promise of an interview with Harry and when the guest of honor didn't show, Fudge tried to make up all kinds of excuses.  It was the reporter from the Quibbler that initially suggested that maybe Harry wanted nothing to do with Fudge and as much as Fudge tried to deny it, the reporters all picked up on this as being the most likely reason.  At the end, Fudge was demanding that no one report anything about the ceremony but it didn't seem like any of the papers were going along with that.

Harry stayed off to the side while the Weasley kids were talking about the days events.  He felt terrible about adding to the problems for their family.  Hermione came and sat next to him and said, "It's not your fault.  You told them you didn't want the award."

"I know but I just seem to cause them even more problems," Harry whispered back.

"The Minister is just panicking," she replied.  "I know you hate being a part of all of this but they're just trying to use you.  We'll be back at school soon and then we can just focus on classes."  Hermione looked down at the scrap of parchment Harry had been doodling on and noticed something.  "You're not still thinking about the veil are you?"

Harry covered the doodles and said, "I think about it every day.  I can't stand not knowing what really happened to him."

Hermione pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "Don't yell but you have to let it go," Hermione said and it was all Harry could do not to storm off.  "If it had happened to you would you want him being like this?" Harry didn't respond right away but knew that he wouldn't want Sirius being like he was, but he also knew that didn't change how he felt.

"No," Harry finally admitted.  "But that won't stop me from wanting to know what really happened to him," he added firmly.

The next day the paper was full of articles about the ceremony and how Harry had stood the Minister up.  Many editorials brought up that the community should have listened to Harry and Dumbledore for ages and that now everyone should give up on the current Minister.  There were other articles praising Harry and Dumbledore for being the only independent voices not influenced by politics. Ron kept joking that Harry could run for Minister right now and beat Fudge.

The final week passed without any major news or events allowing Harry to spend most of the time reading or watching how Ron and Hermione acted around each other.  He could already tell he was being left out of little discussions but couldn't complain since many times he wanted to be left alone anyway.  Still, it made him a little sad that his two best friends were experiencing something great and he couldn't be involved.

It was announced that everyone would floo over to Grimmauld Place and then they would walk to the train station as they did last year.  Lupin came and assured Harry that he wouldn't need to be in Sirius' house any longer than absolutely necessary and true to his word, as soon as Harry stepped out of the floo, he and Remus went outside to wait on the others.  "You know Harry that you could live here if you want.  Sirius left it to you," Lupin said.

Harry quickly replied, "I don't think I could do it.  It's good the Order still gets to use it though."

"Well think about it," Lupin offered.  "You'll be legal age before long and this is a well protected place.  We could really try to get it in shape."

Harry shrugged at the thought.  Right now he couldn't imagine ever feeling comfortable in the house but would need somewhere to live after his seventeenth birthday.

The trip to the station went smoothly and before Harry knew it, he had said goodbye to Lupin, finally extracted himself from Mrs. Weasley's hug and stepped onto the train.  Once they all loaded their trunks into the luggage car, Ron and Hermione dashed off to the Prefect's car.  "Looks like it's just us," Harry said to Ginny watching them rush down the hall.

"Um…" the girl said, "I'm off to find Dean.  He's supposed to save me a seat."  Harry was confused for a minute and then remembered the train ride last term where she had set her sights on Dean Thomas.  "You don't mind do you?  I could come right back."

"No!" Harry quickly said.  "I don't mind.  I just forgot about that."

"Ok," Ginny said still sounding unsure.  "Maybe I'll stop in later."

"If you want," Harry replied as she left.

Now Harry really felt alone as he went in search of an empty compartment.  He was invited to sit in almost every one he opened, even when the occupants were students he had never really talked to before.  Finally he opened a door and saw a lone figure sitting, hidden behind a large book.  "May I sit in here," Harry asked, glad that it wasn't full of people.

"If you would like," came the sing-song voice he remembered from last year.

"Luna?" Harry asked and she dropped the book.  "How are you doing?"

"Oh wonderful," she said observing him with her protruding eyes.  "Father and I had a fantastic vacation.  It looks like all the other papers are following the Quibbler with articles about you."

"Yeah, I wish they'd just all forget me though," he replied and she buried her face in her book once again.  Harry in turn pulled out his book of shields and quietly re-read areas he had previously marked.

Time was passing quickly and Harry had nearly dozed off but the entrance by his two best friends kept him awake.  "You'll never believe it," Ron said, dropping down next to Harry.  "Malfoy's still a prefect!"

"After what he did last year?" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore has his reasons," Hermione said looking over a schedule for the evening.  This explanation didn't help Harry's anger at Malfoy still being a prefect.

"But he joined Umbridge," Ron exclaimed and unconsciously Harry rubbed the back of his hand, remembering his detentions from last year.

Hermione caught the movement and said, "But she's gone and not coming back."

Harry quit paying attention to their discussion and stared out the window, trying to remember that this was a new year and things could be different.  "Now isn't this the lowest car on the train," the irritating voice of Draco Malfoy said as the door slid open.  "Potty, Weasel, Mudblood and Looney.  At least you're all with your own kind."

"Hello Draco," Luna pleasantly said drawing a confused look from the blonde boy.

"Sod off Malfoy," Ron angrily said.

"You can't last much longer Potter," Malfoy said, ignoring Ron's comment.  "You've just been lucky so far but it can't last.  My father will make sure of that."

"We handled your father just fine last year," Ron spat back causing Malfoy's eyes to flash dangerously.

"Oh right, when Potter lost his pet," Malfoy smirked while saying this.

Harry almost jumped up but held his temper and said, "I'd say Lucius' time is about up Malfoy.  The Aurors have been told they can use Unforgiveables on Death Eaters.  He shows his face, masked or not and it's over."

Draco's hand went for his wand but before he had drawn it, there were four wands inside the car pointing at him and then he heard, "That would be a very stupid thing to do Malfoy."  Looking down the hall, he saw Ernie McMillian and a couple Hufflepuffs pointing their wands at him.  Crabbe and Goyle were looking around lost.

"Very stupid indeed," Justin Finch-Fletchley said from the other direction

"You won't always be protected Potter," Malfoy spat and then said, "C'mon you two."

"Alright in here?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah, it was just Malfoy," Harry said.  "Thanks for that though."

"Anytime…We're starting the D.A. up again aren't we?" Ernie asked and the other students in the hall looked in expectantly.

Harry hadn't really considered it and was just about to say no when Hermione said, "Of course we are."  The students said great and proceeded down the hall.

"We are?  When did we decide that?" Harry asked, a bit irritated at Hermione for assuming he would be involved.

"Well…I mean…It was good last year and we all need as much practice as we can get," she said, stumbling a bit.

"Yeah mate.  I would never have gotten an Outstanding without it," Ron added, being rewarded with a proud smile from Hermione.

"Well I don't know," Harry said.  "I'm not sure I'll do it."

Luna interrupted objections by the others when she said, "We wouldn't have made it out of there without things you taught us.  There's a war starting and we really need your help."

"I'm sure Hermione can teach it better anyway," Harry offered.

"Not Defense Harry," Hermione said.  "You're the one who kept us alive last year."

"You wouldn't have been in danger if it wasn't for me and I didn't keep everyone alive did I?" Harry snarled.

This killed all the conversation and Hermione let it drop with, "Just think about it."

Now the battle was all Harry could think about.  The vision of Sirius falling through the veil was as fresh as ever.  He remembered something Luna said and asked, "Luna.  What do you think happened to Sirius when he fell through the veil?  You heard the voices as well."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.  "You said you'd give that up!"

"No!  You said I'd give it up.  I'll never give it up until I'm sure," Harry snapped back.

"I think he died," Luna's swirling voice got his attention.  "That doesn't mean he's not there."  Harry stared at her.  "My mom is dead but I know she's there and watching me."

"But he wasn't dead when he went through," Harry said almost pleadingly. 

"You've got to drop this Harry," Hermione said.  "I don't want to tell Professor Dumbledore."

"You'd do that wouldn't you?" Harry snapped.  "Why don't you go join Malfoy since you want me in trouble as well?"

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed.  "That's out of line."

Harry wanted to say something to Ron about siding with Hermione but he knew that he would regret it later and promised himself he would try to take a walk before spouting off so he quickly got up and said, "I'm taking a walk."  Once outside, Harry turned and began to storm off down the hall, he rounded the corner and ran into someone, ending up with both of them on the floor in a heap.  "I'm sorry," Harry said trying to see who he had knocked down and fallen on.  "I wasn't watching," he added.

"That's obvious Potter," a familiar voice said.  Harry focused on the voice and realized he had ran into and fallen on Kari Boslav.

Harry extended his hand and helped her up.  "Are you ok?  I'm really sorry," he continued.

"Of course I'm ok," the girl said.  "If you want to grope me Potter you're going to have to buy me supper first.  Ice cream doesn't count" Kari said as Harry helped her up.

"Well you should have told me that earlier Boslav," Harry said picking up her bag and handing it to her.

"Well now you know the rules.  Where's the rest of the Dream Team?" she said with a smirk

Harry had heard of them being referred to as that before and it always amused him.  "I think the other two are getting a bit closer so when Hermione starts to mother me, Ron won't stop her," Harry admitted.

"So, Weasel King finally realized he's a Gryffindor and started something?" Kari joked.

"Being brave with girls isn't on the Gryffindor list. I checked," Harry calmly replied.

Kari laughed and said, "Remember what I said about supper Potter," as she continued down the hall.

'Girls,' Harry thought as he continued to walk around wasting time.  He successfully avoided returning to the car by talking to people he really didn't feel like talking to for the rest of the trip.  When the train stopped, he quickly made his way off and into a carriage for the ride to the castle without being spotted by his friends.

Neville walked with him into the castle and the two made their way directly to the Gryffindor table. Harry hoped Ron wouldn't start taking Hermione's side in everything, and he really hoped to keep his own jealousy at their relationship from being noticed.

Hermione quickly entered the Great Hall almost dragging Ron behind her.  She came over and directly sat next to Harry.  "I'm not trying to get you into trouble Harry," she angrily said.  "I'm just worried about you."

"Well don't be," Harry said.  "Let's just drop it."  She didn't seem like she wanted to drop it and Ron seemed unusually silent.  Luckily the table was quickly filling up and the other conversations distracted everyone.  Ron saw Ginny sit down next to Dean and spent the next few minutes give death stares to the boy next to his sister.  Harry couldn't help but be amused at Ron's protectiveness of his little sister.

"Who's that next to Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.  There was a short, stocky witch with dark hair and large glasses engaged in a conversation with the Potions Master.  Snape seemed to be talking back normally which was something highly unusual.

"Well there's only one spot open.  Got to be the new Defense teacher," Ron replied.

"Then why's Snape nice to her?" Harry asked.

"Maybe she's another Death Eater," Ron said.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded.  "Keep your voice down."

Harry barely paid attention during the sorting, instead trying to watch the interactions between the instructors.  Many times he would catch the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall looking directly back at him and he quickly tried to look away.  Professor Dumbledore got everyone's attention after the sorting.  "Welcome to our new first year students and welcome back to the rest of you.  Those of you who were here last year shouldn't have been surprised by the announcement that Lord Voldemort" there were many gasps and the sounds of many objects being dropped at the mention of his name… "has indeed returned.  This changes nothing for us except that it may be freely discussed without fear of reprisal from overzealous Ministry administrators."  There was a pause as the mumbling died down and then he continued, "I would like to welcome Madame Ziter to the inauspicious position of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.  I can assure you that you will find her class much more stimulating than last year.  We are entering some regrettably dark times but would do well to remember that our world has been through this before and love and friendships were formed even in those times.  We must work together because Voldemort will seek to divide our world and will stop at nothing to reach his goals.  I assure also you that Hogwarts is still one of the safest places you can be and we will make sure you have an interesting year.  Tuck in…" With a wave of his hands, the tables were filled with food and everyone quickly dug in.

"Why does the Sorting Hat even spend time coming up with songs about the houses working together?  I mean there is still no way I'm working with a Slytherin," Ron said between mouthfuls.

Hermione turned and Harry was sure she was going to launch into a speech about how they're not all bad but she just looked at Ron eating for a minute and turned back to her conversation with Parvati.  "This is just too weird," Harry thought to himself.

Ginny sat next to Ron and said, "When do you think Quidditch tryouts will be?  Dean wants to try out."

"Can he fly?" Harry asked.

"He says he can," Ginny replied and then said, "You're coming back as seeker, right?"

"If you'll let me have my spot back," Harry joked back.

"Wonder if I'll have to tryout for the Chaser position?" Ginny said.

"We need three since Angelina isn't going to play, you shouldn't have any problem," Ron said.  "Wonder who the captain will be?"  Harry had forgotten that he didn't tell anyone about becoming captain.

"It'll be Harry of course," Ginny said.

"But he didn't play last year," Ron quickly said and that touched a nerve with Harry.


	7. Same old problems

"He played the first game," Ginny quickly corrected her brother.  "And he was kicked off for defending our family."

"Actually guys," Harry said and waited until Ginny quit glaring at her brother.  "It looks like I'm captain.  McGonagall told me when I came here over the summer.  I just forgot," he added with an apologetic look.

"You forgot!" Ron and Ginny said together.  "How can you forget something like that?" Ginny asked.

"He probably couldn't remember his name that night," Hermione joked causing Ginny to laugh out loud.  Ron didn't seem to join in the joke.

"Well congratulations Harry," Ginny cheerfully said.  "Are you going to make me tryout?"

"Don't see why?  We know you're a great flier," Harry said but noticed Hermione elbow Ron and nod to Harry.

"What….Oh…Good job mate," Ron said trying to be enthused.  Harry had worried about his friend being jealous but a small part of him was glad since Ron was already a Prefect and was on his way to having an official girlfriend.

"Thanks.  I'll find out when we can have tryouts," Harry said and continued to eat.

The Gryffindor common room was a sea of activity and noise with everyone talking about their summers and what was going to happen with the war.  Harry had moved a chair as far into the corner as possible and tried to read his book on shields.  "Is that a good book Harry?  You've been reading it ever since you came to the Burrow," Hermione asked as she sat on the arm of the chair.

"It's really good," Harry said handing it to her.  "Lupin gave it to me early this summer.  That what I practiced when he brought me here."

"Did the practice help?" she asked thumbing through the pages.

"Yeah.  At first I kept using Protego but once I got used to the others, they are really different and work better sometimes," he admitted.

"Couldn't you figure that out from the book?" she asked looking slightly confused.

"We don't all pick things up from books as easy as you do Hermione," he said with a smile.  "It helped to use them in real situations.  You know what I mean?"

Hermione smiled triumphantly and said, "Yes I do Harry and that's why I think it's important to continue the D.A."  Harry groaned at how he fell into her trap.  "I'll organize it again.  All you have to do is teach us.  You have to admit that it made a difference last year."

"But we'll have a real Defense teacher this year," Harry quickly replied.

"But we'll only be learning what she thinks is important," Hermione said.  "In the D.A., we can learn what you think is important.  What you think will help in real situations.  The students trust you.  They know what you've done."  She paused and said, "Well they don't really know.  Maybe they know a little but still."

"Fine," Harry conceded.  "I don't want a bunch more people than last year."

"Thank you Harry," she said, sounding very excited.  "This will be great, you'll see.  We won't let anyone under fifth year in.  Marietta is out and we lost the seventh years.  I think a lot of people will ask to join but we'll keep it small."

"Whatever you say," Harry said taking his book back.

"Will you teach us some of these?" Hermione asked.

"If I say no you'll just trick me into agreeing later so I may as well say yes now.  I could use all the practice I can get with shields," he admitted.

Just then Ron came over and said, "I think that prat Dean is being a little to 'handsy' with my sister."

"He's like that with all the girls Ron," Hermione said.

"Even with you?" he quickly asked.

"Just leave Ginny alone," Hermione said shaking her head.

On the way to class the next morning Ron groaned, "Potions, first thing.  He's going to be worse on us, I just know it."

"I suppose he will," Hermione admitted.  "He only wanted to let Outstanding in."

"And Harry basically said he couldn't be trusted," Ron said but Harry couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny or not.

Ron grabbed the seat next to Hermione causing Harry to sit next to Parvati.  All of the houses were together since not that many made it into the advanced class.  Harry saw that Malfoy was sitting next to Pansy Parkinson who Harry didn't expect to make the class.  Obviously Crabbe and Goyle didn't make it in.  Kari Boslav was sitting next to Hanna Abbot from Hufflepuff.  Just then Professor Snape swept into the room.  "You are entering NEWT level Potions.  Most of you earned your way into this class with hard work.  However," he said looking at Harry.  "Some of you were able to circumvent the rules to get in.  None the less, your grades will tell the true story.  I will tolerate no disruptions as some of the potions you will brew are highly poisonous and even deadly."  Snape studied the class and asked, "Who can tell me what occurs when you mix dung of a crape with the stinger of a scorpion?....Anyone…"  Hermione's hand shot up but Snape said, "Mr. Potter?"

This was just a replay to Harry and he promised Professor Lupin that he would not lose his temper in this class so he calmly answered, "I don't know sir."

"Yes well we can tell who didn't use hard work to get into this class," Snape said causing Malfoy to chuckle.

"Tell me Mr. Potter.  Do you believe you deserve to be in this class?" Snape who had now moved directly in front of him asked. Parvati started scooting away from Harry.

"No sir I don't," Harry again calmly replied.

This wasn't the answer Snape or anyone appeared to expect.   Quickly the teacher recovered and asked, "Then why, do tell are you here?"

"This class is required to get into Auror training," Harry said.

"If you don't have the talent to get acceptable grade in OWL potions, how can you expect to have any hope of getting through Auror training?  Going to count on your fame no doubt." Snape coldly said but didn't wait for a reply as he swirled around and began barking instructions about the potion that was on the board.  At least three more times, Snape had singled out little things Harry had done wrong, even though more than half the class had done the same thing.  In the end, he had lost Gryffindor twenty points but none of the other houses had lost any.

After class Hermione said, "Harry, you've got to try harder.  You're going to lose us all our points."

Harry kind of waited for Ron to say something since he knew Ron thought Snape was unfair, but no comment came.  "I don't care about house points Hermione.  You know Snape is being unfair.  There were a lot of people who had worse potions than me but I'm the only one he took points from, so I don't care.  There are things more important than house points," Harry angrily said and stormed off to the next class.

Even though Charms went well, Harry was still really annoyed at how Snape had treated him and slipped from supper while Ron and Hermione were talking to each other.  He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and map, and then made his way to the Room of Requirement.  Making sure no one was around, he paced back and forth three times concentrating on something he really wanted and then when he opened the door he found the room completely empty except for a mannequin in the center.  He set his cloak and map down then walked toward the middle of the room.  He had concentrated on needing a room where he could practice his shield spells but didn't understand how to make it work.  He decided to fire a stunning curse at the dummy but it just went right through.  After a few moments, the dummy said in a cold, toneless voice, "Just say go."

Harry backed up, raised his wand and said, "Go!"  Instantly curses started coming from the dummy and Harry barely got a shield up to block the curse.  After a few minutes of non-stop curses, Harry had to yell, "Stop!"  The curses stopped coming instantly.  'This was too much,' Harry thought.  "Slower" Harry said and then next time he said, "Go", it was at a more reasonable pace.  Harry didn't know how long he stayed in the room, he only knew that it was fun and kept his mind off of any depressing thoughts.

When he finally checked the map, he saw that the halls were mostly deserted and he realized he was out later than he expected.  Throwing on the cloak, he made his way back to the common room without incident.  He saw on the map that there was still quite a bit of activity in the common room so he removed his cloak and stuffed it into his pocket before entering.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked, sounding annoyed.  "Hermione's been going spare."

"You're all sweaty," Hermione added.

"Maybe he's been with a girl," Seamus teased.

"Oooh Harry," Parvati said.  "You can't go after a girl from another house."

"I wasn't with anyone," Harry said and followed Hermione and Ron to 'their' corner.

"So, where were you?" Hermione harshly asked.

"I was practicing shield charms," Harry said.  "In the Room of Requirement."

"You should really tell us where you'll be," Hermione said.  "Everyone's so worried about you."

"Not everyone Hermione," Harry snapped.  "I don't see anyone else here jumping on me and telling me what I need to do."

"Can't you just tell us where you're going when you go off on your own?" Ron asked.

Now Harry was really starting to get irritated and he said, "Ok, as long as you two tell me every time you two go off somewhere.  As long as we all agree to do it, I don't have a problem."  Actually Harry did have a problem with this but he felt sure there is no way they would both agree to it.

Hermione seemed to be considering it but Ron said, "Well you know maybe it's not a big deal."  Hermione gave him a strange look but didn't say anything.  "Did you schedule tryouts yet?" Ron asked.

"Not yet," Harry admitted.  "I'll talk to Madame Hooch.  I'm going for a shower and then to bed."

Harry was up early, not having slept well at all.  The images of Sirius begging for help woke him up multiple times.  Seeing that all the other sixth year boys were still asleep, he got dressed and made his way down to schedule Quidditch tryouts before going to breakfast.

The trio anxiously made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and waited for the new professor to arrive.  "I thought Umbridge was just what this school needed," Malfoy said to Crabbe and Goyle, making sure to speak loud enough that Harry could hear.  "She had the right ideas on how to deal with unworthy students," the blonde boy said with a smirk.

Just as Ron was about to say something back the teacher walked in and said, "There will be no talking in class."  She surveyed the room and said, "You are here to learn and after being briefed on what you covered last year, I'd say you are woefully behind."  Harry breathed a sigh of relief.  If the instructor thought last year was a waste, then maybe they'd really learn something this year.  "Normally I would like to cover some advanced dark creatures but times being what they are, we will focus on defense and distraction charms.  Buying yourself some time can often mean the difference between getting away and not."

At the end of class, the trio was pleased with how the class seemed to go.  "See Hermione, we won't need the D.A., she seems pretty good," Harry said.

"It's not the same Harry and you already agreed," she said looking at her schedule.  "She does seem like she'll teach us a lot though.  I'm off to Arithmacy, see you in Transfiguration," Hermione added turning to head off in another direction.

"I'm off to Divination," Ron said.  "I can just make up things there."

"I hope Muggle Studies will be easy," Harry said.  "Transfiguration later…"

Harry was happy that he wasn't behind in Muggle Studies and found the way the Professor explained things to be somewhat interesting.  It provided a different way to look at things he had come to take for granted growing up.  He felt pleased with his choice for his fifth N.E.W.T.

The three students met up in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class later that afternoon.  "Welcome class," McGonagall said.  "We will begin by studying conjuring.  This is an extremely useful branch of magic."  The Professor muttered something; waved her wand and some bread appeared on the table.  The large bird in the corner swooped in and began nibbling at the offering.

Near the end of class, everyone was practicing the wand movements and McGonagall walked to the table where Neville and Seamus were sitting and said, "Now you two, kindly demonstrate the proper movements."

They both shrugged and gave their wand the slight movement necessary for the spell.  "Very good you two, that will be ten points to each of you. Class dismissed," she said and turned back to her desk leaving the students who overheard her award the points stunned.

"What'd she give us points for?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, any bloke could wave his wand around," Seamus added.

"That was peculiar," Hermione said and then seemed to be thinking of something.

"So, tryouts Saturday," Dean said changing the subject.  "It'd be great to be a Chaser," he added.

"You just want to chase the other Chaser," Seamus joked drawing a growl from Ron, which caused the two boys to move off slightly.

"Ron," Hermione soothingly said.

"He doesn't need to be talking like that," Ron snapped back.

"You didn't even notice her seeing Michael all last year so you shouldn't get involved now," Hermione reminded him.

"I have to get involved, I'm her brother.  As long as I don't notice them together, or hear about them being together, they'll be no problem," Ron added.  "Right Harry?"

"Hey don't look at me," Harry said.  "I was clueless last year and am staying out of it this year.  I don't want Ginny hexing me."

The rest of the week went quickly.  Snape didn't let up on Harry and he lost another twenty points.  However, McGonagall awarded twenty points to Gryffindor for seemingly trivial actions. 

Saturday morning at breakfast people were reading when the trio came to breakfast and Harry noticed there was a lot more conversations than normal.  He also saw Ginny give him a pained expression and call the three over.  "Did you see the Prophet?" she asked apprehensively.

Harry shook his head and Hermione said, "No, what have they done now?"

**_Ministry's Travesty of Justice!  Twelve years in Azkaban for Innocent Man!_**

****

**_This reporter caught wind of a Decree from the Minister of Magic that was being quietly passed and was able to obtain the details.  _**

****

**_Sirius Black, once the most hated Wizard in the community was in fact innocent and sentenced to life in Azkaban without a trial.  They didn't even take his statement under Vertiserum!  In the Minister's haste to show he had done anything at all after the first fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Cornelius Fudge personally decreed that Sirius Black spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement at Azkaban._**

****

**_It is a shame that our community, in our haste for revenge allowed this to happen and overlook the injustice of our Minister's actions._**

****

**_It was discovered that Sirius Black played a major role against Death Eaters in the Battle at the Ministry and was in fact killed during the battle.  This is the same battle where Harry Potter led a group of elite students, along with Albus Dumbledore and his group of Wizards and Witches in an effort to finally expose the return of The Dark Lord.  Sirius Black has been working for at least a year for the side of Light against the return of You-Know-Who.  The return that our Minister refused to believe._**

****

**_The only comment from the Minister's office was that the estate of Sirius Black has been compensated for his wrongful imprisonment.  This reporter cannot help but feel that compensation can never be enough for the wrong a good man has suffered._**

****

**_We must not allow our leaders to freely circumvent the laws others work so hard to uphold. _**

****

Harry didn't know what to feel.  Just thinking about Sirius depressed him but at least the world would know he wasn't a criminal.  More than anything, it just made him angrier at the way things happen in the Ministry.  He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Hermione ask, "Are you going to be ok?  This is a good thing."

"Yeah Harry," Ginny softly said.  "Now everyone knows he didn't deserve to be sent away."

Harry glanced around and noticed Kari Boslav looking at him intently but then he saw Draco Malfoy laughing as he held up the paper.  Harry turned back and tried to eat without thinking about Malfoy or the Ministry.  Part of him was genuinely happy that the truth about Sirius had finally come out, even though it was too late for his godfather.

Harry got up before Ron and Hermione were done eating and said, "I'm going to go read for a bit."

"Are you sure you're ok Harry?" Hermione asked.  "Want us to come with you?"

"He'll be ok Hermione," Ron quickly said, putting a hand on her arm.  "Don't forget about Quidditch tryouts," Ron added.  Usually, Harry was thankful for Ron's ability to put off thinking about anything other than Quidditch but how quickly his friend could just forget about Sirius rubbed him the wrong way and he walked off without further comment. 

After retrieving Moody's journal, Harry went to the Owlery without seeing any more of his friends.  Searching, he finally found Hedwig and called her to him.  Lightly stroking the bird behind her ear he said, "How have you been girl?  I haven't had much work for you this year.  I don't know where Remus is and there's no one else to write to."  The large owl hooted softly and lightly nibbled on Harry's fingers.  "You know you can go fly anytime you want. You don't have to stay around all the time waiting for me to write someone.  Go have fun."  The bird seemed to hoot a little more firmly and the next nibble was much harder than normal.  "Ok, I'm not trying to send you off or anything," Harry said shaking his head. 

After getting comfortable on the floor with Hedwig on his shoulder, Harry focused on the spells in the old journal both anxious to try them and hoping he never had cause to use them.  Some time later, he heard the door open and saw someone walk in that used to make his stomach lurch, but now did absolutely nothing to him.  Cho Chang had just come in and called an owl down to her.  He heard the girl tell the owl to take the note to her parents and Harry considered staying silent in the hopes of not being seen but decided instead to be polite.  "Hello Cho," he said trying not to startle her but failing horribly.

"Harry!" Cho exclaimed.  "You scared the dickens out of me."  Harry made a face to say he was sorry.  "What are you doing up here?" she asked.

"Just finding a quiet place to read," Harry replied and then after an awkward pause said, "How have you been?"

"I've been ok," she replied and then seemed to think hard about something before continuing, "I want to apologize for how things went with us last year.  I think it was just bad timing and everything."

"That's ok Cho," Harry said, now standing.  "I've been told that I did nearly everything I could possibly do wrong as well."

Cho chuckled and said, "I had always assumed you'd gone out with loads of girls.  So I think I expected you to understand everything."  The girl smiled and asked, "Want to start over?"

Harry didn't think he'd want to try to date her but would like to be her friend so he smiled brightly and said, "That'd be great." 

"I see you're back to being the Prophet's favorite celebrity again," Cho said teasingly. 

Harry knew she didn't realize how much all that bothered him so he faked a smile and said, "I guess.  Everybody says how great that is but so far I can't figure out anything good that's come from it."

"Yes well I'm sure that if you wanted to use it you could easily," she smiled and added, "I've got to go.  See you later Harry."

"Bye Cho," Harry said and let her get well ahead before he gathered his things and decided to go to Quidditch tryouts.

When Harry finally got down to the Pitch, he was surprised to find ten people hoping to tryout for the two chaser spots.  "Where've you been?" Ron grumbled.  "We've been here for a half-hour."

Harry checked his watch and said, "I'm still early.  Tryouts start at eleven."

"They've been warming up though," Ron said.  "You can see what they're like."

"You two still plan on being beaters?"  Harry asked, Sloper and Kirke, the two from last year.  They both nodded in a way that reminded Harry of Crabbe and Goyle.  He turned to the people wanting to tryout and asked, "All of you for the chaser spots?"

"Not me," said Dennis Creevy holding an old Cleansweep broom.  "I'm trying for seeker." 

There was a lot of mumbling and laughing when he said this and Ginny said, "Harry's our seeker."

"I know but I want to try for it anyway," Dennis said seeming to shrink a bit.

"No problem Dennis," Harry said.  "Even if you don't beat me, you may be able to be a reserve."  The small boy brightened noticeably.  "Everybody else Chasers?"

"I'm going for Keeper," a large fourth-year named Bill Shurman said.

"They don't normally let them tryout for filled spots," Ron said with a menacing glance at the boy.

"It won't hurt anything," Harry said.  "Let them have some fun."

Harry saw Ginny give a squeeze to Dean's arm before she joined the existing members in their group. "Ok, after the tryouts, the team members will vote for who they want on the team.  I won't vote for the seeker and Ron won't vote for the keeper.  If there's a tie, I'll decide which way we go.  Any problems?" Harry asked.  When there weren't any, Harry split up the new players and put one of the beaters on each team.  With someone trying out for keeper and beater, it meant they could field almost two complete teams for the tryouts.

After nearly two hours of tryouts, in which some of the newcomers were eliminated quickly it was time to vote.  Harry gathered the existing team members together.  Ginny quickly spoke up, "That worked out really well.  Some of them are good."

"Yeah, and some of them were bloody worthless," Ron joked.

"Ok, Seeker first," Harry said hoping it went his way.  "Who wants Dennis?"  No one raised their hands.  "Who thinks he should stay on as reserve?"  Everyone raised their hands.  "Good.  He wasn't half bad," Harry said.

"Ok, Keeper.  Who wants Shurman?" Harry asked and was surprised when Sloper's hand went up.  They all looked at the lone hand.

"He's a family friend and wasn't bad," Sloper snapped.

"Ok, Shurman can be on the reserve squad as well," Harry said but noticed Ron was looking angrily at the beater.

"Now Chasers," Harry said.   The vote went until they had it down to three.  Dean, Colin Creevy, and Sally Neigh. They all tied with three votes for and two against.  "Does anyone want to change their votes on any of them?" Harry asked and everyone kept to their original choices.  Harry dreaded this but he said, "Ok, I think they were all good but I stick to my votes of Colin and Sally."

Harry heard Ron say, "Yes" and then saw Ginny give him and Ron evil glares before storming over to Dean.  When Harry told everyone, Dean didn't seem too bothered by the news and actually didn't even want to be on the reserve squad.  Glad that was out of the way, Harry told them when the first practice would be and that he would post the full schedule soon.

After getting cleaned up and returning to the common room, Hermione came up all excited and said, "I've scheduled our first D.A. meeting tonight."

"Tonight!" both Harry and Ron exclaimed.  "I need to prepare," Harry said.

"And I thought we could…you know study," Ron said seeming to go red and Harry thought it odd that Ron would want to study.

"Yes well you are prepared Harry and Ron you'll have to study some other time," Hermione calmly said.  "It's at seven and we will have less than last year.  A couple new people are coming but they seem ok."  She quickly turned and caught up to another girl who had walked by.

"One track mind that one," Ron said.  "How will she last once school's done?"

"She'll probably go on to some University or something," Harry said thinking about it.  "She just can't get enough."

"You think she'd do that?  Just go off and leave us?" Ron asked, seeming to have never considered it before.

"I don't know.  Ask her," Harry said and dug around for his current Defense book to see if there was anything in the later chapters that would be good for the meeting.

Harry was reading alone in the corner after supper but before the meeting when Ginny came to him with a strange look.  Harry looked up and said, "Hi Ginny."  When she didn't say anything right away he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Her face hardened and she asked, "Why did you vote against Dean?"

Harry hadn't expected this and said, "Well I think Colin was faster and Sally seemed to have more control over the Quaffle.  Why?"

"Did my brother tell you not to vote for him?" she asked, still not looking happy.  "He's been giving us a hard time."

"No he didn't tell me not to and it wouldn't have mattered anyway.  I want the best team," he said, causing her to relax a bit.  "Besides, Ron's your brother, not me.  I'm not going to act like one and interfere with your relationships."

Ginny brightened noticeably and said, "Thank you Harry."  She looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I thought you just saw me as a little sister."

"I can honestly say I've never thought of you as my little sister," Harry said still not sure why she brought that up.

"Good," Ginny said.  "Well I'll see you at the meeting."

Harry entered the Room of Requirement with Ron and Hermione a few minutes before the scheduled meeting.  "This room is just brilliant," Ron said looking around.

"I wish you could take things out of here," Hermione said thumbing through a book.

Harry was pacing nervously and only stopped when Ron said, "Give it a rest mate.  I know this room can be anything but you're wearing down the floor." Harry had just started to think that maybe no one was coming when the door opened and a good line of people started flowing in.  They all greeted the trio and then got into their more comfortable small groups.  Harry was surprised to see Neville standing so close to Susan Bones.

"That looks like it," Hermione said to him and then added, "I'll just start it off then."

Hermione stood next to Harry and confidently said, "Most of you were here last year so you know what to expect.  But for those of you that are new, see me after the session and I'll explain how we know when meetings are going to be."

"Do we have to sneak around this year?" Ernie McMillian questioned.

Harry hadn't even thought about that.  He assumed with Umbridge gone that it would be ok to meet like this but never checked.  "We don't need to sneak around this time," Hermione quickly replied getting some mumbling from the crowd.  "I asked Professor McGonagall and she was going to inform the other Heads so they know why so many of us get together.  But," Hermione said getting everyone's attention, "we…I still think it's very important that we keep what we do within our group.  This will give us more of a team feeling and along those lines; I've drawn up another sign-up sheet."  Now there were groans.  "And yes it will be like the last one.  It just says that by joining our group, you will not talk about things that we say should be kept between us."

"We can't tell people what we're doing?  What about our teachers?" a girl in the back asked, drawing some agreement.

"That's fine Kathy," Hermione calmly said.  "But, we may talk about things that aren't common knowledge and you can't repeat that.  We may teach some charms that aren't taught here and we don't want those passed around.  You've all heard about the Battle at the Ministry," she said and everyone got silent.  Harry snapped around to stare at her, unsure what she was going to say.  "There were a few of us there and we may talk about curses we saw and other things that weren't reported in the Prophet.  That stays between us.  Any objections?"

There was a lot of mumbling but no complaints so she said, "Good.  Just to make sure everything is in the open this time, the effect of breaking the contract will be worse than last year.  Everyone will need to sign before they leave.  Now Harry can get started."

Harry was amazed at how organized Hermione was and how confidently she ran things.  "Ok, thanks Hermione," Harry said.  "I'm sure I'll have nightmares about what would happen if I broke the contract."  He said this as an honest statement but everyone laughed as if it were a joke.  "Even though we seem to have a good Defense teacher this year, we wouldn't have lasted in the Ministry without working together and using the spells differently than we were taught," he said getting their attention.  "It was a lot of simple spells that we used, so we'll focus a lot on those as well as shields."

"You didn't use simple spells against You-Know-Who," Justin announced to a bunch of 'Yeahs'.

Harry had read the article describing that night and often wondered how they had gotten their information.  For the most part it was close, while leaving out specific details such as Ron claiming to see 'Uranus'.  However, it was entirely speculation from the moment Harry went after Bellatrix Lestrang.  The paper printed that he had indeed gone after her but then it went on to say that he dueled her for a long time until Voldemort showed up and that he had held both Bellatrix and Voldemort at bay until Dumbledore showed up to help out.  The only thing he had told Ron and Hermione was that it wasn't like the Prophet said at all.

"I didn't use any spells against Voldemort that night," Harry announced firmly, drawing stares from his friends as well as protests from the other students.  Harry ignored them and said, "I did chase Bellatrix and managed to hit her with one curse, but it didn't stop her."  Harry turned and saw Hermione's pained expression.  She knew how he hated talking about this.  "I dove on the ground to avoid one of her curses and when I looked up, Voldemort was standing with his wand pointing at me," Harry softly said.  There was total silence in the room now; you couldn't even hear their breathing.  "He would have killed me right then if Dumbledore hadn't shown up.  I didn't even say a single spell against him."  Harry breathed in a few times and firmly said, "He would have killed me because I wasn't ready and was unprepared for him to be there.  I realized earlier this summer that I can never let that happen again.  So, even if you use a simple disarming spell, do something.  Don't get into a spot where you're not prepared to do anything."

"Now," Harry said sounding firm again, "that should tell you two things.  First, don't believe everything the Prophet writes." People chuckled and agreed.  "And second," he continued, "we all can use help.  Those of us at the Ministry were holding our own but wouldn't have lasted much longer.  If help hadn't come, well I don't want to think about that..."  After another pause he said, "Instead of just reviewing, let try the Patronus charm since the Dementors have left Azkaban."

The mood which had started off kind of light had now become deadly serious.  Harry explained again how to use the charm.  "Remember, the most import thing is to focus on a single thing that makes you the happiest," he reminded them.  Harry noticed that some people who had produced a faint Patronus' last year were now not producing any and even Hermione wasn't getting a full, solid otter.  He suddenly wished he hadn't started with this since he now wasn't sure if even he could focus on something to lift his mood enough to allow his stag to form. 

The cause didn't come up for him to attempt a Patronus before the class was over.  He was standing around talking to some people before they left when Cho came over and put her hand on his arm and said, "That was really good again Harry."

"Thanks Cho," he said.  He had noticed her during the class and also that she wasn't working with Michael Corner.  Harry also saw the boy leave just a few minutes earlier.  "Things with Michael didn't work out?"

Cho kind of grimaced and said, "No.  That was just the wrong thing."

"Oh, well congratulations on getting Quidditch Captain," Harry said annoyed with himself for even bringing up the subject of Michael.

"Thanks.  You too," she said beaming now.

"I think you'll do great, but I'm not sure about me.  I don't know enough about it to come up with plays," he admitted.

"Well, I don't want to give you any pointers, but it would probably help a little to read Quidditch Monthly.  I think some of the past issues are in the library," she offered.

"Thanks Cho," Harry said, "I owe you one."

"I'll remember that Harry.  Bye," she pleasantly said before leaving.

"Don't tell me you're after 'hose nose' again," Ron said rolling his eyes.

Hermione scowled but said, "What he means Harry is that we think you may be better suited with someone else."

Harry laughed and said, "Oh is that what he meant?  Doesn't matter because I'm not interested.  At all."  Harry followed his two friends up to the common room discussing things they should work on during the next meeting.

Except for Potions, school had been going pretty well for Harry.  He only needed to use the journal one time, and this was when he felt that Voldemort was very angry.  It turned out to be when the evil Wizard had found out that many of the werewolves would be supporting the Light side.  He continued to have nightmares about his Godfather but wasn't willing to write these down.

Potions however was another story.  No matter how hard Harry tried and he was actually trying harder than usual, Snape would ask questions about things that weren't even in their book.  However, no matter how many points he lost in Potions, some Gryffindor would earn it back in Transfiguration.  It didn't take long before Harry, and probably everyone figured out what McGonagall was doing.

Sitting in the common room with Hermione and Ron close together on a couch and Harry in a chair trying to ignore them, he asked, "Are you sure you didn't say anything to McGonagall."

"I told you I didn't Harry," Hermione said sitting up straighter.  "I knew you wouldn't want me to tell her about Snape picking on you so I didn't.  That doesn't mean that someone else didn't, but I had nothing to do with it."

"Hey, don't look at me," Ron quickly said when Harry looked at him.  "I say you can handle yourself with the greasy git!"  Harry believed both of his friends but still wasn't comfortable with Professor McGonagall awarding cheap points because he felt Professor Snape would assume he ran to McGonagall for help.

After Quidditch practice, Harry finally made his way back to the common room and thought he was being stared out more than normal but had learned to pretty much ignore other people so he didn't think much of it until he stepped into the common room and everyone looked at him with pained expressions.  The Gryffindors usually treated him fairly normally so this was unusual.  Ginny motioned him to join her, Ron and Hermione in the corner so Harry quickly made his way to them beginning to get annoyed at the stares.

"What happened?  Was it bad?" Harry asked his friends.

"Nothing new happened," Hermione said.

"It just got reported, that's all," Ginny added handing him the Daily Prophet.

**_Sirius Black: Minister's Blunder, Another Blow to The Boy Who Lived_**

****

**_This reporter has uncovered the fact that Sirius Black was, in addition to being a wrongfully convicted man, Harry Potter's godfather.  That's right readers; the man who our Minister wrongly imprisoned for betraying the Potters was in fact Harry's godfather.  Harry grew up without a connection to his parents because Cornelius Fudge sentenced the wrong man to Azakaban without a trial!_**

****

**_The impact to our Harry is even worse because if you'll remember, Sirius Black was with the group battling the Death Eaters in the Ministry and Harry had to watch his godfather die at the hands of one of You-Know-Who's supporters._**

****

**_Our Minister didn't believe Harry Potter over a year ago when he returned from the encounter with You-Know-Who, clutching the dead body of fellow Hogwarts student and co-Triwizard Tournament Champion Cedric Diggory.  And because of this, Harry was in a position of having to watch his godfather be murdered as well._**

****

**_The Daily Prophet is formally calling for a vote of No-Confidence in Cornelius Fudge.  He has misled our community and been directly involved in keeping information from the public.  In times like these, the community must be able to believe in their leadership._**


	8. Potions Help & Gossipy Portraits

---Author Notes ----

sesshomaruobsessed: I just can't write a good H/Hr. Some of my favorite stores are this pairing but I can't do it.

RLupin1003-The geometry flattens out quickly after Christmas

I agree with the many people who said the Prophet Articles sounded more like letters. I'm going to work on that and maybe I'll update the chapters if I can come up with something better. Thanks for the comments

-------- End Author Notes

Harry couldn't believe they ran the article. If it wasn't for all the painful memories it brought back up, he would have been happy that the Prophet was finally taking a stand against the Minister of Magic. He was still staring at the article when he heard Hermione loudly say, "Yes it's all true and no we won't be talking about it."

Turning, Harry saw her glaring at the rest of the students in the common room who were watching him closely. "C'mon Harry, let's go to our chairs," she added dragging him over to the corner.

"Can't believe they're blasting Fudge so much," Harry said, trying to push back down the feelings about Sirius.

"If they boot him I wonder who would be the next Minister?" Ron questioned.

"What about your dad?" Harry asked.

Ron looked like he was thinking but Ginny said, "Wouldn't happen." Ron looked at her strangely but she continued, "I mean he could do it but he doesn't have enough support in the Ministry. It'd have to be someone like Kingsley or Madame Bones. They have high profile positions and are well respected."

"Bet Percy is down at the Prophet right now threatening to shut them down," Ron said shaking his head. Ginny got a disgusted look on her face at the thought of Percy and what he had done.

Ginny soon left to find Dean and over the next hour, Harry tried to study potions, but kept being distracted by Ron acting overly nice to Hermione and by Hermione letting him. This wasn't like either of his friends. Finally, knowing he needed to study and not being able to ignore the two of them he stood up and said, "I'm going to the library." Hermione started to protest but he kept walking pretending not to hear what she said.

After finding a quiet table to himself in the Library, Harry now tried to focus on Potions but found himself just thinking about how unfair Snape was to him. He had just buried his head in his hands when he heard, "Love birds ditch you Potter?"

Harry knew the voice but turned and saw Kari standing behind him. "That and I hate Potions," Harry said giving a slight smile.

"Tell you what," Kari said taking the seat next to him. "I'll make you a deal." Harry looked at her skeptically but she continued, "You let me into that little Defense Club you've got going and I'll help you with Potions. I do alright in that class."

"You don't have to help me," Harry quickly said. "You can join the D.A. anyway."

Kari rolled her eyes and said, "You Gryffindors are such pushovers. Learn from a Slytherin will you. I want something from you and you can benefit from some of my insights. That way we both win."

Harry smiled and said, "You know, that was very un-Slytherin of you. It's a deal."

"Good," the girl replied, "and don't go spreading it around that I explained how I gave you a sweet deal."

Harry nodded and said, "I think I got the better deal. Helping me in Potions won't win you any points with Snape."

"I'll handle that," she confidently said. "I don't think you letting me into your group will get you any points with your friends either."

"And I'll handle that," Harry firmly replied.

The girl looked serious for a second and then said, "So Sirius Black was your Godfather?" It stung to her hear mention Sirius' name but surprisingly Harry wasn't angry about it and just nodded. "Nothing's ever simple with you is it?" After a pause she added, "You know it's getting easier to think of Skylar without it hurting so much. I mean I still miss him a lot but I hold it together better now."

Harry thought for a minute and said, "I do pretty good until the Prophet comes along and throws it back in my face."

"Well maybe we'll need to take a walk and talk about them sometime. I'd like to hear more about him," Kari said.

For the first time, talking about Sirius didn't sound like a bad idea so Harry said, "You know, I think I'd like that."

"Good," she said smiling, "Now let's talk Potions." Harry groaned but she said, "You may not know this but we have access to the lessons a day or so early." Harry's eyes got huge and the girl said, "So when I suggest we study something, it's probably a good idea if you listen."

"Oh I definitely got the better end of this deal," Harry said as he started to listen to the girl discuss upcoming lessons.

The two left the library just before curfew and were about to go to their respective common rooms when Professor Dumbledore's voice surprised them, "Now this is a sight I would very much like to see more of. Gryffindors and Slytherins are rarely in each other's company without one or the other losing house points."

Harry actually smiled but noticed Kari had a very worried look on her face and said, "We were just studying sir. I'm on my way to the common room now."

"Of course you were Miss Boslav," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm sure Harry appreciates any assistance he could get with his Potions work." Both of the student's eyes got big at the Headmaster knowing what they were working on. "Now if you don't mind, I need to speak with Harry for a moment."

"Of course sir," Kari said, still nervous about the encounter.

She turned to leave and Harry quickly said, "Bye Kari. Thanks again." She turned and gave a quick smile before continuing towards the dungeons.

"I'm glad to see you don't paint all the Slytherins with the same brush," Dumbledore said.

"She doesn't seem like a normal Slytherin," Harry admitted as he turned to follow the Headmaster.

"What is a normal Slytherin?" Dumbledore asked but didn't seem to expect an answer because he continued, "It is rare when a person is a clear-cut fit into any house. You know from your own experience that the Sorting Hat often has options before it decides on the best fit. I often thought Miss Boslav could have been a fine Ravenclaw."

The two walked in silence until they entered Dumbledore's office to find it occupied. "Prof…Remus," Harry said still not totally used to calling his former professor by his first name.

"Hello Harry," Remus replied putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Everything ok?"

"Sure," Harry said and then wondered why the man was here. "Nothing's wrong is it?"

"No Harry," Dumbledore said taking his seat behind the desk. "We wanted to discuss the article in the Prophet with you and to see what you thought about it."

"Oh," Harry said remembering the article. "I guess its ok. They seem to believe that Sirius was innocent and everything and I'm glad they're not letting Fudge off."

"That surprised me," Lupin said. "He's losing influence fast."

"What about the vote of no-confidence?" Harry asked. "Who could take over?"

"Well," Dumbledore softly said, "Since I have been re-instated as Chief-Warlock of the Wizengamot, I have some insight." The old wizard's eyes were twinkling brightly. "It seems Madame Bones is seriously considering challenging him for the post." Both men seemed to be carefully watching Harry's reaction to this.

"She seems ok," Harry quickly said. "I mean she didn't blindly side with Fudge at my trial."

"She is fair," Lupin added. "Tough but fair."

"Now Harry," Dumbledore calmly said, "There is something else we wanted to discuss with you." Harry waited to hear something bad but it never came.

"Would you mind if I became your legal guardian?" Lupin asked in a voice that clearly showed he wasn't sure of the answer.

"That'd be brilliant," Harry quickly said and saw the relief on Lupin's face.

"We'll make the necessary arrangements," Dumbledore said from behind his desk. "We didn't want to do anything without consulting you first."

"Thank you... both," Harry said smiling. "Will I still have to go to the Dursley's?"

Now Lupin's expression faltered a bit and he said, "I'm afraid you will. Both for the protection and the fact that the Ministry won't let a minor live with a werewolf."

"But, after my birthday I can go wherever I want," Harry said trying to hide his unhappiness at knowing he would have to go back to his Uncle's house.

Lupin didn't seem to be relieved by this statement and neither did the Headmaster. "That is true Harry," Dumbledore said, "However I hope you will keep in mind your importance to our struggle before making any decisions."

Harry thought for a moment and stopped his comments a few times before finally saying, "I'll consider it but I won't be locked away."

"I understand Harry," Lupin quickly said, "I really do." The man put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.

"When will it be official?" Harry asked feeling his anger subside.

"Before the end of next week," Dumbledore confidently said. "I think that's all for tonight Harry. I meant what I said about being happy you were getting along with Miss Boslav. It will serve you well to let more people in."

"Around Kari again Harry?" Lupin teased.

"She's helping me with Potions," Harry quickly pointed out.

"If you say so," Lupin said. "See you soon Harry."

Harry slowly walked back to the common room thinking about his evening. What started out as an attempt to escape watching his two friends flirt turned into an offer of help with his worst class and news that his father's other best friend would now be his legal guardian.

He tried to make noise entering the common room in case Ron and Hermione were doing anything he didn't really want to see. However, there were only a few Gryffindors still awake and his two friends weren't anywhere to be seen so he quickly made his way up to the dorm and went to sleep.

The next day the three friends had just finished lunch and were heading to the next class when Hermione said, "Did you finish your homework Harry?" Harry nodded, trying not to be annoyed at her question. "Just ignore anything he says. We don't want to lose any points."

"Right Hermione," Ron quickly said. "Even if Harry doesn't say a word the git will still take points." Harry was pleased to see that Ron occasionally challenged her on things.

"Yes well it'll be worse if Harry snaps at him," Hermione firmly said.

"I'll be a good boy Hermione," Harry said as sarcastically as he could just before they entered the classroom. Harry saw Kari sitting in the row behind Malfoy and she slightly inclined her head at him to which he responded in kind. He took a seat next to Susan Bones right behind Hermione and Ron.

Before Professor Snape arrived he whispered, "Susan, I heard your Aunt may run for the Minister position. I think she'd be brilliant." 

Susan seemed a bit surprised at the comment but brightened noticeably and said, "Thanks Harry. I hope she does. Would you mind if I told her you said that?"

"Not at all," Harry quickly said just before Snape entered the room.

The lesson had been about paralyzing potions; exactly what Kari said they should study the night before so when Snape came to Harry and asked, "Tell me Mr. Potter, what is the one ingredient that if left out will cause this potion to be fatal?"

"Ground unicorn mane sir," Harry quickly said.

Without even listening the Professor said, "10 points from Gryffindor." Hermione's hand was immediately in the air and he said, "Yes Miss Granger."

"Sir, Harry's answer was right. It is ground unicorn mane," she said giving a look at Harry like 'How did you know that?'

Snape seemed stunned for a moment but quickly recovered and said, "Yes, so I see. Very well Mr. Potter will not lose 10 points but you will for being a know-it-all." Harry smiled inwardly as he saw Ron begin to say something but Hermione, even though she looked angry, stop him from losing even more points.

After class Harry was able to mouth 'thanks' to Kari as they left and before they were to the next corridor, Hermione said, "Oooh I can't believe him. That was uncalled for."

Her attitude annoyed Harry and he said, "Oh it's a big deal when he's unfair to you but when it's me, I need to study more and watch my temper."

"She was only standing up for you," Ron snapped with an angry look.

"I guess you're right," Harry quickly said and then added, "At least one of my friends still does that." With that he changed course and headed off in the other direction before either of his friends could respond. Instead of going directly to the common room, he went to the owlery. Looking around, he didn't see Hedwig and breathed a sigh of relief since he didn't want anyone to connect this note to him. Quickly scrawling a note, he gave it to one of the school owls and left before his owl came back and got mad at him for using another owl.

Entering the Great Hall, Harry saw Ginny sitting across from Ron and Hermione instead of sitting next to Dean. "Where'd you go Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry ignored Ron's annoyed look and said, "Just took a walk, no big deal." "Sorry I snapped at you," he added with a little smile.

"No, you were right," she admitted. "He is unfair to you."

"Snape?" Ginny asked. She had been quiet since he first sat down.

"Yeah, who else?" Harry said rolling his eyes. "Is he like that to your class?"

"Not really," she said. "I mean he acts like he can't stand Gryffindors but he doesn't take points for nothing."

"Just me then," Harry said with a smile.

After a few more minutes of eating in silence Harry turned to Ginny and quietly asked, "Is everything ok? You're kind of quiet."

Ginny turned to him and her expression flashed anger for a second but then softened and she said, "I'm ok, it's just been one of those days."

"Ok, but let me know if you need anything," Harry said and then added, "other than help with Potions that is."

His smile instantly lifted Ginny's spirits and she joked, "If I ever ask you for Potions help, you'll know something's up." Harry wrinkled his nose at her and went back to eating.

Before long, Harry saw an owl fly through the window and circle the Slytherin table before dropping a note in front of Kari Boslav. She opened the note which read, "Proper supper tomorrow? Meet by the picture of the bowl of fruit on the third floor. I just want to be prepared in case I run into you again." Kari looked up and caught his eye before giving a very small nod and then turning back to her friend while pocketing the note.

That evening in the Common Room, Harry noticed Hermione glancing at Ginny who was sitting by herself studying and still looking like something was wrong. He really wanted to ask Hermione about it but couldn't with Ron around and also didn't want Ginny to get annoyed with him.

Harry actually felt really tired when he went to bed that night but was bothered by the vision of Sirius falling through the veil. The scene changed to one of darkness and all Harry could hear was his Godfather calling out to him. 'Help me Harry…Please' The dreams continued until the noise his dorm mates made getting ready finally woke him up, but he felt more tired than he did going to bed the night before.

Harry ignored snide comments from Malfoy as they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and chose a seat just in front of Ron and Hermione who always sat together now. "Today we will begin learning a variant of the 'Confundus' charm. You should all be skilled enough to accomplish this and when used in the right situation can give you a brief moment where your opponent will be confused about what they are currently doing. This may give you enough time to make an escape." The teacher was interrupted by the waving hand of Draco Malfoy. "Yes Mr. Malfoy."

"Excuse me Professor but it seems everything we're going to learn is to be used to escape. What if we don't want to run away?" the boy asked in his normal slimy voice.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, this is 'Defense Against the Dark Arts'. You're here to learn how to stay alive when attacked and making a hasty escape is one of the best ways," Professor Ziter replied.

"But Professor," Malfoy said in a sarcastic voice. "I know some people," he glared at Harry when he said this, "prefer to run away but real wizards stand and fight."

"Is that so Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Ziter asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "Well when the time comes and you are either staring down The Dark Lord's wand, or maybe the wand of a Ministry Auror I hope you'll remember what real wizards do. This class is about defense. If you choose Auror training you will learn many offensive spells and if you choose the same training as your father, I'm sure you'll learn many as well," the Professor said with a menacing look at the blonde boy who had the expression of someone who had just been slapped in the face. Harry was stunned the teacher said that and heard Hermione gasp and Ron snort behind him.

After class Ron couldn't stop talking about the teacher's comments. "I can't believe she said that. It was brilliant!"

"I guess that means she's on our side," Harry added.

Hermione seemed deep in thought and then said, "Does it though? I mean she didn't make it sound any worse to be facing Voldemort than an Auror. Maybe she just doesn't like Malfoy's dad because he got caught."

"Hermione!" Harry said sounding confused, "You're usually telling us that we should trust the teachers."

"Yes well we've only had one that was trustworthy. And then after last year when Ministry officials sent Dementors after you and everything, you just can't be sure anymore," she sadly said as the three headed up to the common room.

Harry sat down next to Ginny who was studying in the corner and quickly told her what happened in the class. "She seems ok to me," Ginny said.

"Me too," Harry agreed, "but Hermione does have a point."

"When doesn't she?" Ginny teased.

After some time spent studying Hermione said, "Let's head down to supper you guys."

That snapped Harry to attention and he saw that he only had a few minutes before he was supposed to meet Kari. Jumping up he said, "Oh I can't. I need to…ummm… do something. I'll see you guys later."

"What do you need to do Harry?" Ginny said before Hermione could ask the same thing.

"Just something I remembered. Don't worry about me," he said as he headed out the portrait hole and down the corridor. He arrived at the painting and was relieved to see that Kari wasn't there yet. Even though this was a main corridor, since it wasn't on the path to any common room there wasn't much activity and after a few minutes, Harry started to worry that the Slytherin girl wasn't going to show up.

Those insecurities were building when he heard, "Sorry I'm late." Harry turned and was relieved to see Kari quickly walking towards him. "Since we're naturally untrusting, making an excuse to skip supper was tricky."

Harry smiled and said, "Yeah, and since my friends think I'm going to go do something stupid mine was as well."

"Well I know this floor pretty good and don't know where you're planning on treating me to a proper supper. You better pull something good out of your pocket if you expect me to be impressed," she said looking around.

"No worries," Harry confidently said and then added, "Turn around and close your eyes."

Kari raised her eyebrows, turned and said, "Try anything and I can hurt you."

Harry didn't know if she was being serious or not but he quickly tickled the pear and gave the password, causing the portrait to swing open. "I can handle myself Boslav. You can turn around now."

Once she saw the opening, her eyes got huge and she said, "I didn't know this was here!" Harry was already pulling her through the opening and glanced around to make sure no one saw them enter before pulling the portrait back over the hole.

Kari was looking around in wonder as they descended the stairs towards the kitchen. Once at the bottom, instead of taking the path to the main section of the kitchen, they turned the other direction and went into a small alcove that already had a table for two set for them. The alcove was lit from a single lantern on the wall above them. The girl stared at Harry and said, "I take it this is your normal table?"

Harry smiled as the both sat down and said, "Actually this is the first time I've been down this way. Usually I go to the main part of the kitchens and grab something to eat. A friend set this up for us."

Just then there was a 'crack' and Dobby appeared next to them and bowed until his nose nearly touched the ground. "Welcome Harry Potter sir. Dobby is honored that a great wizard like Harry Potter would ask for his help," the little elf squeaked. Kari was looking like she was torn between being disgusted and being ready to laugh at Dobby's antics. Dobby straightened up and had a huge smile as he looked from Harry to the girl. As soon as the elf recognized the girl however, his smile faltered and he actually stumbled back a bit and said, "Bbbbut…Harry Potter Sir…Miss is from His house." The little elf gave a very worried look to Harry as he said this.

Harry saw the hurt look on Kari's face and said, "Yes Dobby, Kari is a Slytherin and she's my friend. She's really ok. You'll like her."

Dobby's eyes darted back and forth between Kari and Harry but he finally turned to Kari, bowed deeply and said, "If Harry Potter says Miss is a good witch then Dobby is glad Miss is here. Harry Potter is too great to not tell the truth..." Kari only gave a half-hearted smile and then Dobby said, "Is Sir and Miss ready to eat?" Both of them nodded so Dobby snapped his fingers and plates of food appeared in front of each of them. Dobby stepped back next to Harry and said, "Harry Potter will just call for Dobby if he needs anything. Dobby will take care of it."

"Thank you Dobby. You've been a great help," Harry said causing the elf to blush tremendously before vanishing.

"You actually talk to them?" Kari asked eyeing Harry strangely.

"Of course," Harry said. "Dobby's…well he's a bit enthusiastic."

"I guess. We have one of course but I've never really just talked to it," she said looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh," Harry said wondering about his choice of places to eat. "Dobby used to be Malfoy's elf before I tricked Lucius into freeing him. I hope he didn't make you feel uncomfortable."

"No it's just…well…I guess you're just full of surprises," she said finally showing a real smile.

"Yeah…" Harry said, again realizing how far from normal he was in both worlds. His expression must have shown because Kari said, "I didn't say that was a bad thing. We just have our own way of doing things in my house and pretty strong opinions. This is nice and I would have to say qualifies as a proper supper." Her genuine smile lifted Harry a bit and he smiled back. "Should I start worrying about you running into me after tonight?" she teased.

"Maybe you should," he teased back and began eating. After enjoying pleasant conversation over the meal, once dessert was served Harry said, "We're having another D.A. meeting Saturday after supper. Do you still want to come?"

"Yes, I really do," she quickly replied. "You probably won't be anyone's favorite person for letting me though," she added watching his expression.

"It'll be ok," Harry quickly said. "Hermione always says we should work with you guys more. I never thought I actually would though," he added with a chuckle. "Ron won't hide that he'll be upset about it but the rest will be ok. Don't let it bother you, they'll come around."

"Oh, I won't let it bother me," she firmly said. "I intend to make sure you keep your end of the bargain. What have you already worked on? How lost will I be?"

Harry went on to tell her the main things they worked on last year and how they had tried to review the Patronus charm in their first class this year. "Some of that is really advanced," she exclaimed. "They'll be fifth years in there that can show me up," she added with an unhappy expression.

Harry thought for a second and said, "If you want we could go over some of the stuff we've done and I'll show you what I'm planning on doing in the class. That way you'll be a bit ahead for this class."

"Really?" she quickly asked and Harry nodded. "Ok, after our study session for Potions. Do you have a place we can practice?"

Harry smiled brightly and said, "Oh yeah, I know a place."

"You are not at all like I expected Potter," she said shaking her head.

"Same to ya Boslav," Harry said. After eating and talking for quite some time, they noticed it was about curfew and made their way back up the stairs. Kari was about to push the painting open when Harry stopped her and removed a parchment from his robe. He turned, whispered 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' and tapped the parchment with his wand. After making sure the coast was clear whispered, 'mischief managed' before turning back to the girl and saying, "Had to make sure no one was out there."

The two stepped out into a vacant corridor and Harry smiled brightly when it was indeed deserted. "How long would it take me to find out all the secrets your friends know about you?" she asked with a large smile.

Harry thought and said, "All the secrets they know or all of my secrets?" He raised his eyebrow at this statement.

"This could get interesting," she said with a laugh. "Well I better hurry before Professor Snape catches me out after curfew. Maybe I'll rate another one of these sometime?" she said as she began down the hall.

"Maybe," Harry joked back as he hurried to his own Common Room. Harry entered the room to find most everyone up and studying in their own little groups. He noticed his friends in their corner looking anxious and Ginny waving him over. Seeing their hesitant expressions he asked, "What's up? Did something new happen?"

Ron and Ginny both stammered a bit but Hermione, still looking nervous said, "Did something happen in Professor Dumbledore's office after the battle?" She asked this very slowly and almost looked unsure if she wanted to hear the answer or not.

Harry clearly hadn't expected this because his eyes snapped wide open and he turned to see if anyone else was watching them. Once he saw that they were being ignored he got a pained expression and asked, "Wwwhhy would you ask that?"

"So it DID happen!" Ginny said. "Oh Harry, why didn't you tell us?" she asked looking very concerned.

Harry wasn't ready to give in yet so he said, "I…I don't know what you're talking about. What did you hear and how did you hear it?"

"Well," Hermione quietly said, "Ron and I were…studying earlier." Harry saw Hermione blush a little but noticed Ron had gotten bright red. "And well one of the portraits was having a gathering of some women and one of them scolded us for not taking care of you. She said that after what happened in the Headmaster's office that you'd need someone to make sure you were ok."

Harry's expression showed his surprise and then Ron said, "We asked what she was talking about and all the women in the picture started whispering and then said they couldn't believe that we didn't know. Two of them started crying and said, 'that dear boy' sounding just like mum. Finally all we could get out of them is that you trashed Dumbledore's office and that they thought you should have done more than that."

"Bloody gossipy portraits," Harry snarled as he sat down dropping his head into his hands. He really didn't want his friends to know what he had done since he felt so ashamed of his actions. Now he would have to tell them something but he wasn't about to tell them that he knew about the prophecy yet, if ever.

"Harry," Ginny softly said sitting next to him, "we only want to help and can't without knowing what's wrong. But if you really don't want us to know, we'll drop it."

Ron started to protest but Hermione said, "She's right Harry, we want to know but won't push you."

After rubbing his head for a few moments Harry softly said, "They were telling the truth, I broke a bunch of stuff in Dumbledore's office. I suppose I should start with the part where I ran after Bellatrix." Harry went on to recount everything that happened at the Ministry but left out which specific curse he tried to use on Bellatrix Lestrang. "So then when everyone started arriving, Dumbledore sent me to his office," Harry said so softly his friend had to lean way in to hear. "The door wouldn't open. I was trapped," he said fighting back the tears. "Then Dumbledore showed up and started telling me how he knew how I felt and that it was my compassion and love that forced Voldemort out of me when he possessed me. I wanted it to end when that happened," Harry said looking up at his friends with a lost expression. "I wanted to die, right there," he admitted but kept his head down so he didn't seen the pained expressions on his friends. Ginny now had sat down right next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Dumbledore wouldn't let me out and I kind of lost it and started breaking things and he just let me," Harry added shaking his head.

Just replaying everything made Harry feel both ashamed and angry so he was already getting wound up when Hermione, in her condescending voice said, "You really shouldn't keep things from us Harry. We could help."

Harry didn't notice Ginny rolling her eyes but did see Ron nodding his head in agreement with Hermione's statement. All of this tripped his mood and he snapped, "Of course you lot tell me everything." His friend's snapped their heads, clearly not expecting the quick change in Harry's attitude. "You two kept everything from me last summer," Harry said and then held up his hands when Ron started to explain. "Oh I know 'Dumbledore made you promise.'" He shook his head and said, "And didn't you keep the time-turner from us for all of third year? Seems fine for all of you to keep things away from me but as soon as I do it, it's a crime."

"Hey, I didn't do any of that," Ginny snapped.

Harry rounded on her knowing that she had in fact kept something from him but realized he would have done the same thing so he pushed the anger down and said, "Yes you have Ginny." He looked hard at her and softly said, "But I would have done the same thing in your place so I can't complain." Harry saw the pained expression in her face and knew that she realized he was talking about the diary in her first year.

"I wish you'd quit snapping at us," Ron angrily said.

"Yeah well I wish you'd get off my back," Harry replied, matching Ron's tone.

"Harry," Ginny softly said putting her hand on his arm, "We really just want to help. Everyone knows something's going on. The others in the Order are really worried about you."

Harry gave a cold laugh and said, "Don't mistake their worry for actual caring. They don't care about me; I'm nothing but a tool to them."

Ginny quickly pinched his arm hard making Harry yelp. "You're lucky people are around or I'd hex you bad," she said looking furious. "Mum, Dad and the rest of the family care about you. Mum's already trying to add your hand to our clock. Lupin and Dumbledore care about you too."

Harry softened a bit at this and said, "You're right, your family is great. And Lupin, I guess he does too. Not so sure about Dumbledore."

"No matter what Harry, remember that you can always go to Mum. She'd do anything for you," Ginny said, again using her soft voice.

Harry looked between his friends and saw Hermione near tears, Ron looking furious and Ginny looking like she understood. "There's just a lot going on with me right now and it's nothing you can help with. I really don't feel like talking about it."

"Of course, whatever you want. As long as you're happy," Ron spat.

It took all Harry had not to hex Ron right there. He turned and left so quick that he didn't see the scowl Ginny had given her brother.


	9. First Quidditch Match & A Glimmer of Hop...

Harry was able to avoid his friends for the next couple days which made it easier to get to his study time with Kari without any questions.  There was very light and brief conversation between the three, usually with Hermione in the middle.  She was still acting a bit coolly to Harry but not as bad as he had expected.  By the time the weekend came around, he was beginning to miss sitting with his friends and even missed watching Ron flirt with Hermione. 

Quidditch practice Saturday had been pretty horrible.  He had no real direction for the Chasers and they were the ones that needed to work together the best.  The Beaters learned enough last year to show their improvement but even though Ginny had been on the team last year, she had been the Seeker so she was also new to the Chaser position.  Harry saw Ginny giving Ron dirty looks and knew it was to stop Ron from making comments about how bad the team was playing.

After supper that evening, Harry was still in a funk from practice and nearly walked into Kari who was waiting by the portrait of fruit for him.  "Can't you think of something more original than running into me again?" she asked as she avoided the collision.

"Sorry," Harry admitted, "rough practice."

"So we have a chance this year?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"Unless I can figure out how to be a decent Captain, yeah.  I know nothing about Chaser plays," he told her.

"Well," Kari said looking uncomfortable, "Weasley's always talking Quidditch, just ask him for help."

Harry thought for a second.  At first he hadn't wanted to ask Ron because of Ron's attitude but since it was best for the team, he'd have to swallow a little pride and ask.  Kari must have seemed him thinking and said, "Boys.  Never want to ask for help."  She saw Harry smile at this and said, "Ready to face their wrath when you bring me to the meeting?"

Harry nodded confidently and said, "Ready.  Ready to get beat by some fifth years?"

"Unless you've changed up the plan I think I can handle them," she said bumping her shoulder into his.

When they reached the door to the Room of Requirement, the two walked in hearing the other students talking. Harry smiled when he saw the surprised expression Kari was wearing, remembering his first time seeing this room.  Suddenly things got very quiet and then the whispering started.  Both Harry and Kari saw everyone staring at them but Harry nodded his head in a direction and the two walked over to where Hermione was standing.  He ignored the strange looks but couldn't ignore those his friends were giving him as they approached.  "What?" Harry snapped causing Ron and Ginny to close their mouths.

"Hello Kari," Hermione said still a little strained but not entirely unpleasant.

"Hermione," Kari responded.

"I asked Kari if she wanted to join the group," Harry said and saw Ron and Ginny's faces look even more shocked.  "She knows about the sign-up sheet and the consequences of betraying the group," he added meeting Hermione's eyes.

"Umm….Sure," Hermione said fumbling through her bag before producing a piece of parchment.  "Are you sure you understand what signing this means?" Hermione asked looking intently at the Slytherin girl.

"Fully," she replied with the same intent look and quickly scrawled her name at the bottom of the parchment causing a brief twinkle around the writing.

Hermione rolled the parchment back up and dug out another token to give the girl.  Ron's confused glare had now taken on a very angry look but Harry couldn't make out Ginny's thoughts from her expression; he only knew it didn't look good.  Ron looked like he wanted to say something but Harry quickly said, "Ok, I think that since many of us are working on shield charms in class that we should try some spells that tend to break them down quickly."  The students had stopped mumbling about Kari and were paying attention.  "Spells that are focused will break down a shield quicker than full body spells such as Stupefy.  The blinding curse is one that is tightly focused but still not too advanced so we should all be able to do it."  He went on to describe the curse and made sure to tell everyone the counter to it in case someone was blinded.

The students paired up and Harry gave Hermione a pleading look and she agreed to pair up with Kari, making Ron scowl even more.  By the end of the class, Harry was pleased to see that they all seemed worn out and also that nearly everyone had successfully performed the blinding curse.  Harry was just about to follow Kari out of the room when he heard, "Harry, we need to talk to you for a minute." He turned to see Ron glaring at him.

He turned back to Kari and was about to apologize when she said, "Time to see if you can handle them."  The girl smiled and said, "Thanks for bringing me.  I really appreciate it."

"It's our deal remember," Harry smiled back and then turned to face the wrath of his friends.

As soon as the door was shut Ron started, "A Slytherin!  You brought a bloody Slytherin to our group."

Hermione shook her head at Ron and then said, "I think what Ron's trying to say is…"

She was cut off by Ron bellowing, "I said what I'm trying to say.  How could you bring a Slytherin here?"

Harry's anger quickly flared but he saw a slightly hurt look on Ginny's face and that caused him to keep it in check.  He hoped to not tell them about his deal with Kari but realized that without telling them to stay out of his business that's probably the only way to get out of this.  "She's alright Ron," Harry said.

Before Ron could reply Hermione said, "He's right Ron.  Kari's always seemed ok.  Not all of them are like Malfoy."

"What'd she do, just walk up to you, give a pretty smile and ask you to bring her?" Ginny coldly asked.

"Yeah!" Ron agreed.  "Is this like Cho, where you were falling all over yourself?"

Harry had just about enough and was ready to launch into two of his friends when Hermione said, "That's uncalled for both of you.  Ron do I have to remind you about Fleur?" Hermione raised her eyebrows and Ron causing his eyes to suddenly lose their hateful look.  "And Ginny," Hermione said turning to her other friend, "I seem to remember…"

"Ok…Ok…" Ginny quickly said before Hermione said something terribly embarrassing.

"That's not how it is," Harry angrily said.  "I made her a deal ok!  You've seen how I'm doing better in Potions.  Well she's helping me with Potions and in return she wanted into the D.A.  I told her about the magical contract and everything.  She just wants to learn like the rest of us and I really need help with Potions."

The two girls immediately softened their looks but Ron hadn't come around yet.  Hermione quickly said, "You could have asked me Harry.  I would have helped you."

"You're always off –studying- with Ron," Harry said and immediately felt bad for his tone.  "I mean that's great and everything.  I'm happy for you two but I still could use the help and she's smart."  He turned to Ginny and said, "Even you said I'd know something was wrong if you ever asked me for Potions help.  You know I need it."

Ginny grudgingly agreed and said, "So that's where you go off to after supper.  You're off with her."

"Studying potions!" Harry quickly added.

"I wish you would have talked to us before," Hermione said.  "It was just a shock."

"You didn't talk to me about all the other people you invited before the first class," Harry quickly replied.

"I didn't think you cared as long as there weren't many," Hermione explained.

"I didn't," Harry agreed.  "But I don't see why I needed to get all of your permission when no one ever asked me for mine."

"You're right," Hermione quickly said not wanting another argument.  "Let's just all agree that if we want someone else to join we talk about it first.  Just so none of us are surprised."

"Fine by me," Harry said.

"Me too," Ginny said.

"I don't want anyone else in anyway so it's fine by me," Ron added.

The four walked back to the Common Room in silence and even after sitting in their normal corner, they were strangely quiet.  "How'd you start talking to her anyway?" Ron asked breaking the silence. Harry couldn't believe his friend had just asked that and before he could snap back Ron continued, "I mean we never talk to them.  I don't see how you two made this deal if you never talked."  Ginny looked torn between her brother's rude question and wanting to know the answer.

"I just ran into her and we started talking," Harry replied, thinking that was exactly how it happened.  "Then she saw me studying potions and it just came up.  I do talk to other people you know."

"Ron," Ginny quickly said, "You're always off –studying- with Hermione so I don't think you can say anything about Harry finding other people to talk to."

Hermione seemed the most shocked by Ginny's comment but Harry quickly said, "Thank you Ginny."

"You can always hang around with me," she said and almost wished she hadn't because a blush quickly formed.

Harry didn't notice and said, "That'd be great but I don't think Dean would appreciate it."

Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances and then Ginny said, "Oh well he won't mind.  We broke up a while back?"

"What?" Ron exclaimed.  "What'd the prat do?"

Hermione shook her head but Ginny calmly replied, "He didn't do anything, it just wasn't working.  No big deal."

"I'm sorry Ginny," Harry offered.  "I noticed you weren't sitting with him as much but didn't know you two had split.  I should have paid more attention."

"That's ok," Ginny said with a smile.  "You've got more important things to think about."

"That doesn't matter," he replied.  "You're my friend and I should have noticed."

"Well that's just a sign you shouldn't be dating yet.  Why don't you wait a couple years," Ron said.

Hermione and Harry were ready for the blowup but Ginny only said, "I'll wait if you do."

Now Ron blushed while Ginny stared defiantly at him.  Harry and Hermione both laughed at how red his face was.

The next day Harry was focusing on the Potions assignment when he felt someone lean behind him and whisper, "I see they didn't hurt you too bad Potter."

Leaning back Harry quietly replied, "I think I'll live Boslav.  And thanks, I actually understand the assignment."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for Potter's inability to remain quiet," Snap snapped as he glared at Harry.  "Five for talking and five for trying to bring another student down to his level."

Straining to keep control of his temper, Harry just stared back at his cauldron and slowly added the next ingredients but didn't miss Malfoy snickering from the next table.  Chopping the next ingredient with more force than necessary, Harry fumed at how much he hated both the Professor and the blonde Slytherin at the next table.

The friends had just left Transfiguration that afternoon and Ron asked, "Why didn't McGonagall give Harry points for his chair.  That looked perfect and she's always making up for the points that greasy git takes."

Harry gave Hermione a questioning look but she firmly replied, "Probably because Harry actually did something to cause the points to be taken.  She only gives us points back when Professor Snape takes points for no reason."

Harry shrugged but had learned to not dwell on things that happened in Potions class.  Ron brought him out of his thoughts.  "C'mon Harry let's get to practice before supper."

Once again, practice hadn't gone well.  Harry was regretting not paying attention in past practices since he now had no idea what the previous captains were telling the other members.  Harry felt it was only Ginny who had kept the other two chasers from hexing him for his lack of clear direction.  It had only been when Ron suggested a simple play that the three chasers had been able to form any move that remotely looked like the previous year's team.

"We'll need to see if there are any plays in some of my old magazines," Ron reluctantly told Harry as they entered the common room.  Harry didn't notice the look Ginny gave Hermione just before heading up to the girl's dorm.  When Harry did look at Hermione, he could tell she was a bit confused so he headed over to where she was sitting.

"I bloody well stink as captain," he admitted as he sunk into the chair.  "I should just tell McGonagall to give it to Ron so we have half a chance.  I have no idea how to come up with plays."

Hermione knew her boyfriend would love to be captain, but she also felt terrible for Harry.  She knew the other players would be more willing to follow Harry then they would Ron and knew how much it hurt him to be bad at something.  Hesitantly, she leaned forward after making sure no one could hear and said, "Listen Harry.  This is really hard for me you know but maybe you could…you know ask someone who knows about these things."

Harry looked confused and said, "I did ask Ron, but he's a bit hesitant to suggest much…I mean I understand he'd like to be captain and everything…"

"Maybe there's someone else who would be more helpful…" Hermione said still watching to see if anyone could hear.  "Someone who knows a lot about Quidditch…"  Seeing that Harry didn't pick anything up she said she quietly added, "Someone you competed against before and knows people…"

"I don't think Cho would help much.  She already told me to look at Quidditch Monthly magazine," Harry said.

"Not Cho," Hermione sighed and leaned closer.  "What about someone that was here for a while and you competed against.  Someone older who happens to play professionally…" she added raising her eyebrows.

After just a second Harry looked like he got the hint and said, "Krum! You think I should ask Victor?"

"Shhh…." Hermione snapped and looked around.  "You can't let anyone know I suggested that Harry…  I mean anyone.  If someone thought I told you to ask him it would be….uncomfortable."

Harry nodded and looked around before asking, "You think he'd help?"

"Probably," she quietly replied, "He likes you and thought you flew really well.  You know he really felt guilty about what happened in the final task.  He's kind of like you and blames himself."

"Really?" Harry hadn't considered that Victor would feel like that.  "He shouldn't blame himself.  It's not his fault he got put under the imperious curse."  Harry saw the look of almost triumph Hermione was giving him and he added, "I know…I know… It's just easier when it's someone else.  I think I will write him."  He saw the worry on her face and added, "And I won't say anything to anyone.  Thank you Hermione.  This actually gives me a bit of hope."

The four of them were heading down to supper when Harry said, "I've got to go send an owl. I'll meet you guys at the table."

"Who're you sending a note to?" Ron asked as Harry disappeared down the hall.

"Probably Lupin," Hermione said, trying to sound like it wasn't important.

Harry burst through the owlery door and heard, "Hey!  Watch what you're doing."

Turning, he saw Cho Chang who obviously had jumped back to miss the wildly swinging door.  "Sorry Cho," Harry said.  "Are you ok?"

She seemed to soften as she said, "I'm fine Harry.  In a bit of a hurry aren't you?"

"Just need to send this and get down to supper," Harry said as Hedwig landed on his shoulder.  Harry didn't want Cho to know who he was sending this to so he quietly whispered, "Take this to Victor Krum please."  Hedwig gave him a proud look and puffed out her chest before nibbling his ear and flying out the window.

"Oh, secret notes," Cho teased.  "I'll be disappointed if I see your owl drop something at the Slytherin table tonight."

"What?" Harry quickly asked and then guessed she thought he was seeing Kari as well.  "Just asking a friend for some help.  It's a guy and he lives far away."

Cho studied him for a minute and said, "That's good then.  C'mon I'll walk you to supper."  They had gone a ways when she asked, "How's your team coming?"

Harry felt a bit ashamed and admitted, "Horribly.  I never paid attention to anything other than my position before.  I don't know what McGonagall was thinking."

"Well maybe we'll actually have a chance this year."  Harry could tell she was teasing.  "McGonagall knows the Gryffindors would follow you anywhere.  She did the right thing.  I suppose everyone other than the Slytherins would follow you anywhere if you asked."

Harry looked shocked but said, "Well that wouldn't be very smart of them, I can tell you that."  After walking just a bit further in silence he asked, "How do you think the D.A. is going this year?"

"Great!" she quickly said and then seemed a bit embarrassed and added, "I mean good.  It's just different learning from you.  You're really good with the rest of us.  Not sure about your latest recruit but I suppose you know what you're doing."

Harry laughed and as he held the door to the dining hall open he said, "You should never assume I know what I'm doing."

"Well thanks for walking me to supper," Cho said with a smile, "Maybe we'll meet in the owlery again sometime."

Returning the smile Harry said, "I'll be more careful next time I come through the door.  And, I thought you were walking me to supper."

The next night Harry caught Kari staring off while they were studying potions and kept thinking he should ask her if something was wrong.  When the two shifted to Defense practice, she kept stopping and acting like she wanted to say something.  Finally Harry asked, "Is something wrong?  I didn't do anything did I?"

The girl studied him for a moment and then said, "You didn't do anything.  I've just got a lot on my mind right now.  Sorry for being so spacey."

"Trust me, I know how that is," Harry joked back and decided to not push her for more information.

The day of the first Quidditch match had arrived without any response from Victor.  Harry had become very agitated and worried about the match.  He and Ron had gotten into a few shouting matches about how plays should be carried out and it caused the four friends to choose sides.  Hermione sided with Ron but Ginny usually sided with Harry.  Thankfully by the next day, each of them had put any hard feelings behind them.

After breakfast, Harry felt he needed to be alone to try and calm down before the match so he headed down to the lake and sat along the bank.  He had been so worried about Quidditch that he didn't even realize he hadn't focused on losing Sirius or the prophecy in the last week. 

"Trying to hide Potter," Kari said as she approached from behind him.

Harry actually smiled at hearing her voice.  Even though he wanted to be alone, the Slytherin girl had never done a single thing to annoy him and usually kept his mind off things.  "Just trying to figure out some way to actually act like a captain today," Harry admitted without turning around.  The girl sat down next to him and he teased, "Did I say you could join me Boslav?"

Kari shook her head and said, "When have I cared what you say Potter?  I'm here and that's the way it is."

Harry chuckled and the two sat in silence until Kari asked, "Can I ask about your godfather?"  This shocked Harry and he snapped his head around to stare at the girl.  "It's important that I understand something and you'll have to trust me on this.  I don't want to tell you why until the end…So can I?"

"I guess," Harry said as he started staring as his feet.

"Ok… Now don't jump to anything and this is going to be a little weird but just trust me," she said uncertainly.

"A Slytherin asking me to trust them?" Harry said with more spite than he meant.

"No, not a Slytherin, just me," Kari calmly replied and looked directly at his face.  Harry just nodded so she asked, "Sirius died during the battle at the Ministry, right?"  Harry just nodded.  "Why was there no funeral?" she firmly asked.

Harry nearly snapped at her but could tell by the look in her face that she really wanted to know.  After a long silence he said, "There wasn't …isn't a body.  He fell through some archway."

Kari studied him for a second and asked, "The Afterworld Veil?  Did he go through the Afterworld Veil?"

Harry's eyes go huge and he asked, "You know about the veil?" She nodded and he said, "I don't know what it's called but he fell through an archway covered by a thin veil.  I got close to it once and there were all these voices."

Harry thought he caught something flash through Kari's face but she regained control and asked, "You were that close?"  Harry nodded still looking intently at her.  "I swore I'd never tell anyone this….My brother…Skylar worked in the Department of Mysteries."  Harry couldn't hide his surprise.  "Remember, not all Slytherins are completely evil.  Skylar was a good guy.  He was killed by my other brother Damien.  He's a Death Eater." 

She paused while Harry just stared.  "Damien wanted information or something from Skylar and when Skylar wouldn't give it up, Damien killed him.  Just like that."

"I'm sorry," Harry said and then added, "How can you be around me then.  If your brother knows you're around me, he'll come after you."

"We won't hide from him," Kari firmly said.  "The rest of my family are good people.  We won't cower from anyone."  Harry slightly nodded, knowing how she felt.  "Well anyway, Skylar knew things about the veil."  Harry was almost in shock as she said this.  "What if I told you there's a way to see Sirius again?"

"What?" Harry exclaimed totally unable to control his thoughts.  "This better not be a joke."

"I wouldn't do that to you Harry," Kari grabbed his arm and looked directly into his eyes.  "Maybe we can see them both.  I don't think I can do it alone but I think about Skylar all the time and want to try."

"You're serious," Harry said and Kari nodded, never taking her eyes off Harry's.  "Of course I'll help.  I'd do anything to see him again."

"We could get into serious trouble for this but I just keep thinking about him and need to try," the girl said almost pleadingly.

"I'm the same way," Harry admitted.  "I dream about him all the time.  Sometimes I can almost swear he's right in front of me."

The two just stared at each other for a minute until finally Kari said, "Ok.  This won't be easy and we'll have to work together.  But Skylar used to tell me stories of how a couple of the old-timers in that department had gone through the veil to talk to the dead, trying to get information about crimes and such.  It's risky and he made it sound like they wished they hadn't gone but they went for different reasons.  We'd be going to get some final closure with our family."

"I'd owe you big time if this works," Harry offered.  "I'd do anything just to talk to Sirius for a minute."

"I'm the same with Skylar," she said.  "If I read his journal correctly, we should have about twenty minutes to find them before we get pulled out."  She grimaced and said, "Even if this works, if we get caught we're probably in for some serious trouble."

Harry almost snorted and said, "Well that will be pretty normal for me.  I'd risk almost anything to see him again."

"Ok, well we need to…." Kari started to say before they were interrupted.

"Harry!!  Harry!"  Ron bellowed.  "What are you doing with… Come on, the match is starting… We'll have to forfeit if you do get over there."

"Bullocks!" Harry exclaimed. 

"Go on," Kari said.  "We'll finish this later."

Harry was still in a daze as he followed Ron to the changing room.  "What were you doing with her?" Ron snapped.  "I bet she tried to get you to miss the match."

"What?" Harry questioned. "Why would she do that?  We're playing Hufflepuff."

"Yeah but if we lose that'll put Slytherin in a prime spot," Ron said as the entered the changing room.

"Where have you been?" Ginny questioned and was followed by the rest of the team.

"He was with the Slytherin," Ron spat.

Harry didn't listen to any more protests and snarled, "Go on out, I'll change and be right there."

After changing, Harry was stopped by one of the people he least wanted to see right now.  "Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said in the tone that clearly indicated she wasn't pleased.  "I trusted this team to you and you repay that by forgetting about the first match of the year."

"I'm sorry Professor," Harry said.  "I got involved and it slipped my mind."

"Well I dare say a match never slipped Oliver Wood's mind."

"The match is going to start, I really need to get going," Harry said hoping to get away from the woman.

Harry flew directly to the center of the pitch where the Hufflepuff captain was waiting with Madame Hooch who didn't look pleased at all.  "Another minute and you would have forfeited the match Potter."

Harry had heard this enough and was about to snap at the woman when she let the snitch go.  It quickly buzzed in front of each captain before disappearing into the bright blue sky.  The next second Madame Hooch blew her whistle and the match started.

Harry quickly flew up, higher than the other players in the center of the pitch.  After scanning for the snitch a few moments, he let his mind drift back to what he and Kari were talking about earlier.  "Was there really a chance he could talk to Sirius again?"  This was what he had been dreaming about for months.  All kinds of ideas began going through his head about how this could be possible.  Every time he brought up the veil to his friends they all got mad and said he had to forget about Sirius and now someone else was offering a chance to see his godfather again.  Harry's mind was reeling with this new information.

Harry was still hovering in the center of the pitch when a large redhead boy appeared in his vision.  "Harry!  What the hell's wrong with you?"

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and asked, "What?  What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?  What's wrong is that you're not in the match!" Ron bellowed.  "I called a timeout.  Get down here."  With that Ron sped off to where the rest of the team had gathered looking angrily in their direction.

Harry joined the group only to be berated by many angry comments.  Ignoring them he asked, "What's the score?"

"The score?  You don't' know the score?" Ron bellowed.

"It's 120-20 Hufflepuff," Ginny snapped.  "What's with you?"

"We're losing?" Harry asked and the rest of the team just looked at him stunned.

"Yes we're losing!" Ron snapped.  "You're lucky we haven't lost.  Their seeker went after the snitch but lost it in the crowd.  You just sat there."

"Ok.  Ok.  I get it," Harry snapped back.  "I see by the score that you haven't stopped much either!" Harry snarled to his friend.

"Stuff it you two," Ginny yelled, getting their attention.

"Ok, I'm with it now," Harry said.  "You three," Harry said focusing on the chasers, "Just do the simple moves we've worked on.   And you two," Harry turned to the beaters, "Give them some holes to work with."  "I'll get my head out of my arse and you," Harry snapped to Ron, "Try to stop something will you."

"Potter!  Get your team out here," Hooch snapped.

The match started again and within three minutes, the snitch appeared and Harry was able to loop their seeker and grab the little winged-ball from just below their keeper's foot giving Gryffindor a 190-140 win. On the way to the ground, Harry saw Kari leaving the stadium and as soon as he returned the snitch to Madame Hooch, he ignored the calls from his teammates and ran toward the exit of the stadium.

"Nice match Potter," the ingratiating voice of Draco Malfoy was heard above the rest.  "You keep that up and we're a lock for the cup."

Harry ignored the comment and kept walking.  "Finally started hanging around a real woman and can't keep your mind on anything else?" Malfoy asked.

That comment caused Harry to stop and he faced the sneering blond boy.  "What do you know Malfoy?'

"I know more than you want me to Potter.  And just so you're clear, I make sure other people know as well."

"Yeah well you tell your dad and the other people that I'll be glad to kill them personally the next time I get a chance," Harry snapped before catching Kari disappearing around the far side of the lake.

Finally Harry caught up to the girl and he grabbed her arm and asked, "Do you talk to Malfoy about anything we discuss?"

The girl jerked her arm away and said, "I don't tell Draco anything.  I thought you said you trusted me?"

Harry dropped and put his head into his hands.  "I'm sorry but he just stopped me and said he knows everything and it bothered me.  There's just so much going on…I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it Potter," Kari said sitting down next to him.  "I shouldn't have sprung that on you before the match.  You were pathetic really."  Harry just groaned.  "Listen, you were pathetic but you still won.  Forget it."

Harry looked up into her face and asked, "Can we really do this?"

Kari nodded and said, "It'll take work and then we'll have to get there without being caught.  I can deal with the preliminary stuff but we're going to have to find some way to get back into that room.  That's your area since I've never been there.  I do have some ideas about when.  I'll have to try and see if they're on the same schedule."

"We're really going to be able to talk to them?" Harry asked, still amazed that this was possible.

"I'm not totally sure how it works, but it sounds like we'd have up to twenty minutes with them.  Skylar never told me everything and his journal is really cryptic."

"Good enough for me," Harry firmly said.  "What do you want me to do?"

"Well nothing yet," she replied.  "We need a potion, but that's my area of expertise," she added with a smirk.  "You can help of course but that's my part.  You…" she said studying him.  "You just do what you do.  Make me believe that we can do this and figure out a way around the rules….Isn't that what you do?"

"I'll do whatever you say," Harry quickly offered.

"Anything?" Kari asked raising her eyebrow.  "Don't forget I'm a Slytherin…How about we start with another supper?"

"Done," Harry gladly agreed.  "You know you're really not so bad."

"Yeah same to ya Gryffindor," Kari joked.  "Now get to your celebration.  I'll get everything planned out."

Harry walked back to the common room replaying everything in his mind.  He couldn't clearly remember even playing in a Quidditch match.   The sound of the celebration could easily be heard when he stepped through the portrait but much of it conspicuously stopped once he was recognized.  He tried to ignore the looks and made his way to where Hermione was studying in the corner.

He sat down across from his friend and could tell she was itching to say something so he said, "Go on say it.  I stunk.  I'm a horrible captain."

"Well yes," Hermione admitted.  "But what I want to know is what she said to get you so distracted.  You've never been like that before."  She hesitated but then said, "You know Ron thinks she's trying to throw you off your game."

"She wouldn't do that," Harry challenged.  "It was my fault, not hers.  I should have kept my head on the game."

Just then Ginny came and sat next to Harry.  "Don't sweat it Harry," she said in a very cheerful voice.  "It was bound to happen that you'd have a bad game and we still won."

"Thanks Ginny," Harry said trying to fake a smile.  "There's no excuse though."  Noticing the looks the other Gryffindors were giving him Harry said, "I'm going to go for a walk.  Don't feel like I should be celebrating."

Hermione started to say something but Ginny stopped her and said, "Ok Harry but just remember we're here if you want to talk about anything."

Harry was able to give a genuine smile before he slipped back out of the common room and made his way towards the Room of Requirement.  Entering the room without being followed, Harry quickly began practicing simple shields and confusion charms.  Even though his mind kept straying to thoughts of seeing Sirius again, he was able to stop most of the spells shot at him from the practice dummies.  When his stomach finally signaled he had been there long enough, he made his way to the kitchens and grabbed something before grabbing his books and working on his homework in the corner of the common room.

Most of the ill-will from his house-mates about his performance the previous day had dissipated by breakfast.  Harry did have to listen to Draco Malfoy's taunts but he didn't give the Slytherin the satisfaction of responding.  Just before he was about to head to class, a large brown owl swooped through the window and circled the Meal Hall one time before dropping a package into Harry's hands.  Harry just shrugged at his friend's questioning looks and tore the wrapping off the package.  It was a think plain brown notebook with a small piece of parchment on front.

**_Mr. Harry Potter._**

****

**_Victor Krum mentioned that you wanted some help with Chaser moves for your school Quidditch team.  I have known Victor for many years and he speaks very highly of you both as a Seeker and as a Wizard.  I put this small notebook together for you.  These are some of our more simple plays from last year.  We've since replaced most of these so it isn't giving away any secrets by sharing them with you.  Having said that, I'd like to ask that you keep this just between us as I can't be sending this information off to just anyone._**

****

**_Victor also included a couple diagrams of some seeker moves he thought you may be interested in.  If you can actually pull them off, I would be extremely impressed.  I told Victor they were much too advanced for someone your age but he just laughed and said would be able to handle them.  If that is the case then I will be very interest in speaking to you upon your graduation from Hogwarts._**

****

**_I hope these meet your needs and Victor sends his regards._**

****

**_Drex McNight_**

**_Offensive Coach_**

**_Puddlemeyer United_**

"So, what'd you get?" Ron asked as he finished his last biscuit.

"Oh, just notes Lupin had on some spells.  I've wanted something new for the D.A. meetings," Harry said almost feeling bad at how easy lying was becoming.  His mood was up all day at finally having some hope for getting his Quidditch team confident in their skills. 

As soon as Transfiguration ended, Harry quickly gathered his books and was prepared to run back to the common room so he could look over the plays when Professor McGonagall stopped him.  "Mr. Potter a minute please."

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look as he slowly trudged up to the Professor's desk.  "Yes Professor," Harry said.

McGonagall waited until the other students were gone and then she said, "Mr. Potter, you're performance during the Quidditch match has me concerned."  Harry began to protest but she cut him off.  "I understand you have quite a lot going on and I was concerned from the beginning about adding to your load.  You understand I need to do what's in the best interest of both you and the team."

"It won't happen again Professor," Harry pleaded.  "I'll admit I didn't have any good ideas on what to work with the chasers on but I really feel better about it now.  I'm sure it will be better."

"It's not just the chasers," McGonagall said.  "I never thought I'd say this but the team doesn't seem to have confidence in your leadership."

"I agree," Harry said.  "But I can change it, I promise.  Just give me another chance."

The Professor studied him closely and said, "Very well Mr. Potter.  I'll give you the chance to get the team back on track.  Make sure you take advantage of it."

Harry had just left the corridor and heard, "Did the old bat finally come to her senses and throw you off the team Potter?"  Harry saw Draco Malfoy and his two goons step into his path.

"Nothing better to do than follow me around Malfoy?" Harry snapped while he glanced around to see that no one else was in the narrow hallway.

"You'd be surprised Potter," Malfoy smirked.  "It seems you're all alone doesn't it?"  Crabb and Goyle both chuckled and cracked their knuckles.

"And yet you and your goons don't seem to worry me much," Harry said, letting his hand get closer to where his wand was stored.

Malfoy snorted and said, "You know as much as I'd like for us to deal with you right here and now, you'd find some way to make everyone think you won.  No, I think we'll let you off for now.  But don't worry; the whole school will know soon enough who can deal with the other."  Harry was confused at this but held his groan as all three of the Slytherins knocked into his shoulder as they continued down the hall.

Seeing the questioning looks his friends were giving him as soon as Harry entered the common room, he quickly made his way to them and sat down next to Ginny but didn't instantly offer any information.

After a few minutes of small talk, Hermione said, "Well why don't we all go down to supper."

"Arrgh, I can't take this," Ron exclaimed, "What did McGonagall want?  She didn't look too happy."

"Ron!" Ginny snapped.

"It's ok," Harry quickly said.  "It won't surprise any of you.  She's not too pleased with my performance as captain."

Harry didn't notice Hermione and Ginny's sympathetic looks but was surprised when Ron said, "Listen mate, it's our fault as well."  Hermione and Ginny now just gazed at Ron with astonishment.  "We just weren't in it.  We'll work harder"

"Yeah, and we'll try to figure out some new chaser plays," Ginny added with a large smile.

Hearing this really lifted Harry's spirit and he heartedly said, "Thanks guys, that means a bunch.  I've got some ideas on some plays as well so hopefully I won't be so worthless."  Harry saw Hermione's eyebrow raise and he gave her a slight nod.

"Well that's good," Hermione said grabbing Ron's hand.  "I couldn't stand Slytherin winning the cup."

"You don't care about Quidditch," Ron replied, sounding shocked.

"I care about you three and know how you'd be if Slytherin beat us and don't think I could stand to be around any of you," she teased as they headed down to supper.


	10. Announcement and Attack

The students were just finishing supper Friday evening when Professor Dumbledore rose and said, "With Holiday fast approaching there will be a Hogsmead visit tomorrow."  That was all it took for everyone to become excited and begin talking amongst themselves.  "I know we have cancelled earlier visits but we understand your need to get shopping done.  Please return before dusk and do not stray beyond the village limits."  The talking became quite loud and the Headmaster continued, "On another subject that I have been questioned about many times this year."  Everyone gave the old wizard their attention again as he continued, "There will obviously not be a Holiday Ball."  There was a mixture of groans and sighs of relief.  "However," now all the girls looked at the Headmaster expectantly and most of the boys scowled at him, "we will have a Valentine's Ball open to students fourth year and up.  You have almost two months to prepare and I imagine some of you feel that is not nearly enough time."

"A ball?" Ron groaned obviously missing the delight in Hermione and Ginny's eyes.  "I was sure we were safe this year."  Ron noticed Hermione giving him an eye and quickly said, "At least we can go to Hogsmeade tomorrow."  Trying to get the focus off of him Ron surprised Harry by asking, "You coming with us mate?" Harry had assumed Ron and Hermione would want the time alone.

Harry was just about to answer when he saw Kari looking at him and making small stirring motions with her hand.  He took that as a sign they needed to complete the potion since the Holiday was quickly coming up.  "I thought you two would want some time alone," Harry said, hoping for an excuse.

"C'mon let's talk about this on the way to the Common Room," Ginny said, causing the other three to get up and follow.  Once they were out of the Great Hall Ginny continued, "You've got to come Harry.  You missed the first one and then all the others have been cancelled."

"Are you sure you two don't want time alone?" Harry asked looking at Hermione and Ron?

Ron turned a bit red but Hermione said, "We've too much to do to be thinking about that.  I haven't started my shopping and there are some books I need to buy before the break."

"You know her, if she can't have three new books to read, it wouldn't be a break to her," Ron teased.

"I tell you what," Harry said.  "I've got some work to finish but I'll meet you after lunch."

"Work?  You mean working with her don't you?" Ginny asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"You said you'd quit that," Harry said.  "I still have Potions work to finish," he honestly added.

"Ok, we'll meet you at 2:00 at the bookstore on the edge of town.  I hope they have the new books I want." Hermione said.

"Some wild date you'll be Granger.  What are you go going to do at the Valentine Ball, hold a reading session in the corner?" a cold voice said as the Slytherin they all hated stepped around the corner.

"What are you doing here Malfoy," Ron challenged.  "This is Gryffindor's area."

"I go where I want Weasel," Malfoy snapped then turned to Harry.  "Don't bother trying to get a date out of your league again Potter.  She'll shoot you down like Chang did.  You know if Boslav didn't think you could teach her defense she wouldn't have anything to do with you.  You're lucky these two don't have a real relationship or you'd be all alone.  I suppose Granger's first choice will always be books though."

"Keep walking Malfoy or I may just 'accidentally' try out my Bat-Bogey hex again," Ginny snarled.

Malfoy was obviously bothered but did start walking away, "I may have to miss showing you what a real duel is Potter.  But it'll be worth it."

"What'd he mean by that?" Ron asked, still breathing heavily from his anger.

"Those three caught me after I left McGonagall's the other night and he said something about showing the school who was the better dueler," Harry said still trying to figure out what the Slytherin knew.

"Harry," Hermione scolded.  "You need to be more careful.  You can't let them get so close to you."

"Harry can handle those three in his sleep," Ginny said drawing glances from Ron and Hermione.

Still focusing on what Malfoy could have meant, Harry absent-mindedly said, "Yeah, thanks Gin."

His use of that name for her caused her to smile and Hermione quickly picked up on the girl's reaction.  "Well let's finish our work so we can leave early in the morning."

The buzz in the Common Room that night was the Hogsmeade visit considering it had been so long since the students had been able to leave the grounds.  Harry noticed that Parvati and Lavender seemed to be extra nice to Dean and Seamus that evening.  Noticing him watching the girls Hermione whispered, "They're trying to get the boys to ask them to Hogsmeade and then the Ball."

"Why don't they just ask them?" Harry asked.

"Well girls just don't do that," Hermione said shaking her head at Harry's total lack of understanding about girls.

"Things'd be easier if they would don't you think?" Ron chimed in.

"Yes…well..." Hermione said giving him a piercing look.  "Come to think of it, I don't remember you asking me to go with you."

Ron looked shocked and exclaimed, "I didn't think I had to.  Who else would you go with?"

"That's not the point Ron," Ginny quickly said before Hermione got wound up.  "It would just be polite to ask."

Ron looked at Ginny and then to the scowl Hermione had and as he was turning red asked, "So…ummm… You wanna go?"

Harry and Ginny snorted in laughter but Hermione simply said, "That would be great Ron.  Thanks for asking."

Giving a sly look to his friend Ron asked, "So who are you gonna ask?"

Harry growled at his friend and said, "This isn't like the Tri-Wizard Ball, I don't have to go."

Ron was grinning but Hermione frowned and said, "You need to go Harry.  Just find someone you like spending time with and ask her."

"Easy for you to say, you girls don't have to do the asking," Harry replied.

"I did everything other than say the words," Hermione said raising her eyebrows at Ron.

"C'mon mate," Ron said trying to change the focus again.  "You're're one of the Prophet's most eligible bachelors."

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Enough thinking about this.  I'm heading to bed."

He didn't notice the pained expression on Ginny's face but Hermione understood and said, "Two o'clock tomorrow.  You know the bookstore right?"

"I think you've pulled us into every bookstore there is.  Of course I know," Harry said with a smirk as he continued upstairs ignoring the giggles of some of the girls left in the Common Room.

As soon as Harry saw his friends get on the carriage to Hogsmeade, he quickly went to the Room of Requirement where he hoped Kari would already by.  The girl wasn't there when he arrived so Harry stepped back out and concentrated on needing a place to practice defense in.  After pacing back and fourth three times, he entered and found the room setup in the format he needed.  He was only able to practice shields for a few minutes until he heard, "I see you're holding out on me."  Harry turned and saw Kari standing with a large bag in her hands.  "Don't you think I can handle those?" she asked stepping closer.

"You'd have no problem.  I just don't think of them until I need to use them.  We can work on those for a bit before getting onto the potion if you want," Harry offered.

The girl set her bag down and said, "You know I dreamt about him last night.  I really want to say goodbye."

Harry nodded and said, "I dream about Sirius most nights.  I don't care what it takes, I want to do this."

Kari nodded and suddenly sent a stunner at Harry, but his reflexes took over and he easily deflected the curse then sent a Jelly-Legs back at the girl.  She had a shield in place and the spell reflected off without doing any damage.  For the next hour, the two worked on shields with Kari picking most of them up quickly.  Harry enjoyed this and found that showing her the details of the spells helped to reinforce them into his mind. 

After a brief rest, the two decided to work on the potion.  Kari treated her brother's small journal like it was a priceless treasure and had jerked it back when Harry went to pick it up once.  "Sorry," she quickly said.  "No one's ever touched it since he died.  You can if you want, I trust you."

Harry smiled and said, "That's ok.  I know how those things are."  He didn't want anyone to touch the mirror Sirius had given him.

The potion didn't look that complicated and Harry asked about it.  "Well, it's really just a simple stasis potion that Healer's use," Kari explained.  "There's only minor changes to account for the transportation."  She scrunched up her face and said, "At least that's what I get from the notes."  Harry felt this was too easy and it must have shown in his face because she added, "Of course it wouldn't work without this."  Kari pulled a necklace with what looked like a small lump of stone at the end.  Seeing Harry's confusion, she mumbled something and tapped the stone with her wand causing it to morph into a glowing blue gem.  "It's a life-stone," she explained.  "I don't know how Skylar got one; the Department of Mysteries keeps a pretty tight hold on them."  She chuckled and added, "Of course he was a Slytherin.  It takes the potion and the stone to get you back through the Afterworld Veil….I think…"

"How sure are you about this?" Harry asked, concerned that she didn't seem very confident.

"Skylar's notes said it will work but it just seems so amazing doesn't it?   They can step into the Afterworld and come back.  It's just hard to believe."

"Yeah well I want to try," Harry firmly said.  "What do we need to do next?"

Kari looked at the boy in front of her and seemed to see him in a new light.  Harry was totally committed to this and she gained a little confidence from him.  The two jumped into making the potion and soon had a simmering cauldron in front of them.

Quite some time later, they were adding some of the final ingredients when three loud 'cracks' broke the soft bubbling sound of their liquid.  Looking up, three wide-eyed House Elves were standing near them and then two large ghosts swooped through the wall as well. 

"There you is Harry Potter!" Dobby said looking more relieved than Harry had ever seen the little Elf.  "Everyone is looking for Harry Potter."

"What happened Dobby?  What's going on?" Harry asked as Kari quickly stowed the journal in her pocket.

The three Elves looked worried but the Bloody Baron swooped down and said in his commanding voice, "You have to return to your Common Room Mr. Potter.  There has been an incident.  We're here to escort you."

"Escort me?  What incident?" Harry demanded.  "Dobby what's happened?"

Dobby started shifting uncomfortably and said, "Dobby is being told not to say anything and to make sure Harry Potter is safe."

"Dobby, you're a free Elf and my friend.  What happened?" Harry intently asked.

Dobby seemed to think for a minute and said, "The nasty Dementors attacked Village."

"Elf!" the Bloody Baron exclaimed.  "Potter it will be explained to you soon, now we'll escort you back."

"What about Kari?" Harry asked.  "If I need an escort than she does too."

The two ghosts looked at each other and then the Baron said, "Mistress Elise and an Elf will see her to the dungeons.  Leave now Miss."

"Wait a minute," Kari announced, seeming to come out of her shock.  She quickly ladled out some of the Potion into a large jar before casting a suspension charm on it.  "It'll keep until I can finish it," she told Harry.  "Let me know if you find out what's going on?" she asked as the small elf started pushing her out of the room.

"Out Potter," the large ghost demanded and once into the hall, Harry saw the commotion of groups of students quickly moving together.  "Where'd they attack?"  Harry asked but none of his escorts answered. "Where?" he loudly demanded.

"On the edge of town.  Only one building," the Baron said.

Suddenly it hit Harry that he had missed meeting his friends at the bookstore on the edge of town.  "Was it the bookstore towards the Shrieking Shack?"  The ghost didn't look at him but Dobby was suddenly very nervous.  "Dobby, was that what was attacked?"

"Dobby is sorry sir," Dobby said and then pleaded, "Please, we must make sure Harry Potter is safe."

"No!  Was anyone hurt?"  None of his escorts answered.  "Where are Ron and Hermione?  And Ginny?"

"Dobby is sorry.  Miss Hermy…."

"Elf!" the Baron demanded but Harry had quit listening and reversed course and started running towards the Hospital Wing.  "Potter get back here!" the Baron called swooping toward him.

There was a 'crack' and before Harry could change direction, he stumbled over Dobby but jumped right back up.  "Dobby I have to see if she's ok," Harry called running again.

Turning the corner, Harry barged into the Infirmary and instantly saw Ginny sitting on the end of one of the beds looking very pale and eating a large bar of chocolate.  He then noticed bushy hair on the next bed and saw Madame Pomphrey pouring some liquid down the girl's throat.  Harry skidded to a stop across from the Matron as she barely acknowledged his presence.  "Is she ok?  What'd they do to her?"

Madame Pomphrey had just looked up when Harry heard a crash and then felt himself being thrown to the side.  "You!  This is all you're fault!" the enraged voice of the youngest Weasley boy roared.  When Harry got his balance again, he saw Ron's fist coming straight for his face.  His Seeker reflexes saved him yet again as he dodged to the side causing Ron's momentum to carry him forward, where the larger boy then tripped over Harry's foot and ended up crashing to the floor.

"Mr. Weasley!  Control yourself this instant!" Madame Pomphrey exclaimed.

Ron wasn't listening however and pulled himself backup with a rage in his eyes that truly scared Harry.  Harry pulled his wand as Ron stalked forward and growled, "What, did you have another vision about an attack and decided stay here where it was safe?  You just left us to them didn't you!  Where were you?"

Before Ron could get any closer to Harry, there were two large 'cracks' caused by Dobby and Winky appearing between the two. "You shall not harm Harry Potter!" Dobby said in a voice that stunned both boys.  Realizing what was about to happen, Ron turned and stormed out of the room.

Harry just watched his friend disappear through the door when a shaky voice said, "He didn't mean it Harry."  Turning, he saw Hermione looking deathly pale but sitting up nonetheless.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed and quickly stepped next to her.  "Ginny," he added remembering the other girl.  "Are you both ok?"

"They'll be fine Mr. Potter," Madame Pomphrey.  "They need their rest and I don't want a repeat of that scene from a moment ago."

"Please Madame Pomphrey?" Harry begged.  "I promise to just stay a moment."

The woman pursed her lips and strode over to her desk without further comment.

Harry went around to the other side of the bed so he could be between Ginny and Hermione.  "Are you ok Ginny?" Harry asked putting a hand on her arm noticing she felt very cold.

"It was awful," she said still sounding shaky.

Harry turned and asked, "Hermione?"

"My Patronus wouldn't form," she said sounding regretful.  "I stepped up but it wouldn't form."

"It's ok Hermione," Harry comforted.  "It's a bunch harder with them around…Eat some more chocolate."  Turning he said, "You too Ginny…What happened?'

"We were waiting for you," Ginny softly said and Harry's heart fell.  "Then it seemed to get so cold…."

"And dark…" Hermione offered.

"Then people screamed and we saw them," Ginny continued.  "We all tried our Patronus'.  Only one worked…A swan I think…"  Harry knew Cho's Patronus was a swan.   "Then Hermione stepped to the front and tried a couple more times…"

"But it was only a mist," Hermione said through tears.  "Then I couldn't move and passed out."

"That's when some of the Auror's showed up," Ginny said.  "A Dementor was just about to grab Hermione," the girl added shaking her head in fear.

"I'm so sorry…" Harry said trying his best to not cry as well.  "Where was Ron?"

"Well he was across the street since he can't stand bookstores," Ginny said.  "That's why he doesn't feel as bad.  Madame Pomphrey gave him chocolate as well." After a pause she added, "He didn't mean what he said earlier… He's just upset."

"He's right though," Harry sadly said.  "They had to be after me.  Why else would Dementors come to Hogsmeade?"

"But they wouldn't know where you'd be," Hermione said.

"Malfoy," Ginny hissed.  "He heard us talking about meeting you."

Harry thought for a second and said, "He did say he was watching me and that he made sure other people knew."

"What?" Hermione said.  "You didn't tell us that."

"Didn't think it was important," Harry said rubbing his head.  "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault Harry…Why didn't you meet us though?"

"I was working on a potion and just lost track of time," Harry admitted before he remembered that he didn't want them to know.

"You were with her!" Ginny exclaimed.

Madame Pomphrey saved him from any further wrath by saying, "Time's up Mr. Potter.  Miss Weasley will be leaving before long and Miss Granger should be out by morning.  Off with you."

"I'm really sorry…" Harry honestly said before leaving.  He faintly heard Hermione say, "Ron's just upset…" as he left the room.

Harry began wondering without any real direction and then felt something near him.  Turning he saw the Bloody Baron and another menacing ghost behind him.  "You don't need to follow me.  I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"You don't have a good history on those lines," the Baron said.  "This is the Black Night," he said motioning to the large ghost next to him.  Harry saw that this ghost was in black armor with the shield pulled down in front of his face.

"Yes well I don't need either of you to follow me," Harry said and began walking again.

After a moment he heard the Baron say, "Turn left here."  Harry stopped and realized where he was.  A left turn would take him to the Headmaster's office.

"I don't need to see him," Harry replied.

"No but he would like to see you."

Harry thought about refusing for a minute but realized that he would in fact like to talk to the Headmaster. The Dark Night went through the wall ahead of Harry and the gargoyle moved aside without a password, giving Harry access to the stairs.

"Hello Harry," Dumbledore greeted him through tired eyes as Harry entered the office.  Harry didn't say anything and just moved to one of the chairs in front of the desk.  "I understand you've seen that your friends are alright."

"Alright!  They're not alright.  They've been attacked by Dementors," Harry exclaimed almost letting his emotions get the best of his judgment again. Harry saw the portraits start to move breakable things out of the visible area of their frames.

"But no one was permanently injured," Dumbledore softly said.  "However a fourth-year from Hufflepuff was bothered enough that she is as St. Mungo's for care.  She will be fine I assure you," the old wizard added seeing Harry's look of pain.  "Your friends tried valiantly to fend them off.  Miss Granger put herself directly in their path."

"It should have been me!" Harry exclaimed.  "She shouldn't have done that."

"It is obviously not only you that has a …how was it said… 'thing for saving people'," Dumbledore said and watched Harry's stunned expression.  "Miss Granger mentioned she dearly regrets saying that to you.  Remember she is a Gryffindor as well."

"They were after me weren't they?  I was supposed to be there at that time but got busy and forgot," Harry sadly said.

"I honestly do not know why they chose that time and place to attack but we may know soon.  Professor Snape has been summoned to a meeting." After a moment of silence, Dumbledore said, "If they were after you and it was Voldemort who sent them, then he isn't aware that you can easily handle a dozen Dementors.  You drove off many more than that during your third year.  He is still underestimating you."

Harry sat in silence with one thought forcing itself to the front.  "Ron hates me.  He thinks I knew there was going to be an attack and stayed here where it is safe."

A slight twinkle returned to the old man's eyes as he said, "When have you ever willingly stayed where it was safe?"  Harry looked up but didn't answer.  "I'm sure Mr. Weasley will realize that.  We can all be a little …reactive… where those we love are concerned."

It didn't take much for Harry to agree with the Headmaster since he was himself contemplating something very risky just to see his Godfather again.  "I know you feel guilty and that nothing I can say will help much," the Headmaster continued.  "However, the vast majority of students look up to you in times like this," the old man raised his hands to stop Harry's coming protest.  "Even though you weren't there, they want to see your reaction and it will mold their own.  Please try to show them you were proud of how they tried to react and at least have an external appearance of this being another setback for Lord Voldemort.  So much of what happens depends on the attitudes and confidence of those involved."  After another moment of silence, the Headmaster asked, "Why do you think they knew you'd be at that location?"

Harry recounted all his interactions with Draco Malfoy to the old wizard who didn't react one way or the other to the news.  At the end the Headmaster said he would keep those things in mind but didn't say if he agreed with Harry or not.

The Common Room was buzzing with activity when Harry entered some time later.  Other than Ginny and Ron, none of them had been near that end of the village and only Ginny was currently in the room trying to answer questions about what happened.  Putting on his best face, Harry approached the group and tried to keep telling them that the students that were there had obviously done great, holding off the Dementors until help arrived.  They were all begging to work on the Patronus charm at the next D.A. meeting.

It wasn't until late that Ginny and Harry had some time alone in the corner.  She saw the look on his face and knew him well enough by now to know what his thoughts were.  "No one blames you Harry," she softly said.

Harry tried to smile but replied, "Ron does."

"He doesn't… Not really," Ginny said.  "I think he blames himself more than anything but can't go around yelling and trying to punch his own face."  Harry gave a slight smile at this.  "He wasn't there to help Hermione and he feels terrible about that."

"I know, I wasn't there to help anyone," Harry said with a sigh.

"You can't protect all of us all the time," Ginny said in a calming voice.  "Even if you could, we wouldn't want that.  We've got to learn to do it ourselves.  We don't want to depend on you for our safety."

Harry gave a cold snort and said, "Yeah well you've got no more choice than I do."

"What do you mean by that Harry?"  When he didn't answer she asked, "Does this have something to do with why the Order is so protective of you?"

Harry really wanted to talk to someone about the prophecy but just couldn't bring himself to burden one of his friends with it.  "You know you're pretty smart," Harry said trying to smile.  "Let's just say that it's clear that Voldemort will never stop coming after me and he's going to use anyone he can to get to me."

"I won't pry Harry," Ginny said.  "You've got enough people trying to do that.  Just know that I want to help you so if you ever want to talk about stuff, I'm here.  I'll even try to control my Weasley temper if need be."

"Thanks Gin," Harry said giving her a shiver at the use of that nickname.  "I suppose Ron snuck up to see Hermione?"  Ginny nodded.  "I'm tempted to go sleep in the Room of Requirement so he won't try to kill me in my sleep but I guess an alarm charm will have to do.  Night."

"Night Harry," Ginny said.  "Remember I'm here if you want to talk."

"That means a lot," Harry said as he left.

Harry slept fitfully that night.  Between the dreams of his Godfather, he was woken up by a burning in his scar that had been absent since he had gotten good at Occlumency.  The emotion he felt from the connection was raw rage.  Harry assumed it was because of the failed attack and hoped the evil wizard punished some of his followers for it.

Ron's attitude hadn't improved the next day and it started to wear on Harry.  He felt guilty enough without Ron blatantly blaming him for Hermione getting hurt.  Hermione made every effort to assure Harry that she didn't blame him.  She only blamed herself for not being able to do a proper Patronus and Voldemort for calling for the attack.  Ron didn't see it like that however.  All he saw was that she was hurt and Harry had stayed safe in the castle.  Just before Quidditch practice that evening, Hermione came to Harry and asked, "I know you're real busy and everything but do you think you could help me with the Patronus charm?  I never want to feel like that again."

"Of course!" Harry quickly agreed.  "I'd do anything for you…If it doesn't bother you, you could come to my lesson with Kari and we could do it then.  I'm sure she'd want to work on it as well." Harry quickly thought that may have sounded insensitive so he said, "But, if you want to do it privately, I can either cancel my thing with Kari or we could come up with another time."

Hermione genuinely smiled and said, "I don't mind working with her if she doesn't.  What's up with you two anyway?"

"I told you, we're tutoring each other," Harry quickly said.  "Potions for Defense, we both get something.  She says it's very Slytherin."

Hermione chuckled and said, "I suppose it is."

Harry began Quidditch practice by trying to seem upbeat and focused on the task.  He quickly acknowledged how badly he performed during the first match and assured them it wouldn't happen again and then went on to point out things he knew the other players did poorly again. 

After his mention about how many goals Ron let by, his friend looked ready to kill but Ginny said, "And Ron will actually try to stop something next time.  We'll all do better."

Practice went pretty well as long as Harry didn't meet eyes with Ron.  The Chasers worked on the few simple moves they had been doing all year but Harry took more of an interest in them and they seemed to do perk up.  At the end of practice Harry said, "I'd like the Chasers to stay a few minutes but the rest can go."

After a few groans the four of them were together and Harry said, "Ok, I know I haven't suggested much…well anything useful for you guys but I think I have some ideas if you want to spend a few minutes."  The three quickly agreed and Harry diagramed one of the least complex maneuvers from the Puddlemeyer playbook without telling them where it was from.

"That's pretty complicated.  Can we do that?" Sally exclaimed.

"Of course you can," Harry said trying to sound confident.  "We just need to work and if you guys want, I can come out with you on other times or we can stay after regular practices.  The other team won't be expecting this."

"We can do it," Ginny said.  "It looks kind of familiar but way better than our pathetic moves now….Sorry Harry."

"I agree they're pathetic," Harry offered.  "I've got a couple more but we've got to get more comfortable with this one first."  The three worked together for over an hour until Madame Hooch forced them off the pitch.  Surprisingly, by the time they left they had actually managed the move a few times and everyone's spirits were lifted.

The next week in the Common Room, Ginny received a note and brightened noticeably.  "You both are invited to the Burrow for Christmas," she said looking at Hermione and then nodding at Harry who was on the other side of her.  "You're staying of course Harry and you can come whenever you can make it Hermione."

"Why didn't she send that to me?" Ron snapped.

"Because I'm the responsible one," Ginny said with a smirk.

"At least as far as she knows," Harry threw in drawing a scowl from her brother.  Seeing that look reminded Harry of how Ron was treating him.  Before he thought about what else he had planned for the Holiday he said, "I think I should stay here again this year."

"You can't!" Ginny exclaimed.

Before she could plead anymore, Ron glared and said, "What, is there going to be an attack on the Burrow?  Wouldn't want the great Harry Potter to be in any danger would we?"

"Ron!" Both Hermione and Ginny snapped but before they could get in any more words the temperature swiftly changed and Harry's cold voice stopped them.

"I've had enough of you."  Just the tone of Harry's voice told the other three that he wasn't kidding and they felt the change around him instantly.  The immediate area seemed to grow quite cold.  "I'd love to go to the Burrow if you weren't going to be there," Harry added challenging Ron to comment with his glare.  They had gotten loud enough that most of the other students in the Common Room were now watching the exchange.  When it became clear that Ron was too stunned to say anything Harry added, "I'd rather spend time with Malfoy than you."  With that, Harry turned and stormed up to the dorm only feeling slightly guilty at his outburst.  He just didn't need any more confrontations in his life right now, especially from his so called 'best friend'.


	11. DA vs ?

Usually Harry's irritation at his best friend's comments faded quickly but this time they weren't receding at all.  In fact, the more Harry felt guilty about the attack, the madder he became at what Ron had said.  'I've got more important things to think about than him,' Harry bitterly thought but then felt the pangs of loneliness creep in.

Hermione met Harry and Kari in the library just as they were finishing studying Potions and all three walked to the Room of Requirement.  "I've asked Professor Dumbledore to see if we can find a Boggart to practice on.  Until then we'll just have to pretend."

"Have you got a form before?" Kari asked Hermione who was just looking at the floor.

"Yeah, an otter but it didn't work with real Dementors," she replied looking upset.

"That's the thing," Harry said, "you have to focus on the happiest thought you can and stay focused on that.  Real Dementors suck all the happy thoughts out of you so it makes it a lot harder."  Harry saw the two girls looking at him intently and said, "It can be something from your childhood or even last week, it just has to be something that made you really happy, and you can't let them suck it away.  Maybe your thought just needs to change Hermione."

Within three tries Hermione's otter was running across the floor. "It's back!  I did it!" she exclaimed.

"That's great Hermione," Kari said obviously disappointed that she had only gotten mist.

"You can do it Kari," Harry said, "just focus completely on something that makes you really happy.  Sometimes you just have to let the thought come to you.  You can't try to force a certain thought to make you happy."

The girl studied him, nodded and firmly said, 'Expecto Patronum!'  Suddenly a large dragon erupted from her wand and glided over the floor.

"Woa!" Harry exclaimed.  "Now that's a Patronus!"

After more congratulations and practice Harry said, "When we get a Boggart, we'll try again.  Until then, practice focusing on your memory.  You'll need to call it up quickly when real Dementors are around or they'll suck all the good thoughts out.  You both were great."

Two days before the Holiday break Harry and Ron still hadn't spoken and the D.A. was having their final meeting; the first one since the Dementors attacked Hogsmeade and everyone was hoping to work on the Patronus charm again.  Harry demonstrated but when the students tried again, only Cho, Hermione and Kari reliably made corporeal forms.  Harry moved over to Cho while the other students were practicing and said, "I heard your Patronus was the only one until the Aurors showed up.  You did really good."

Cho smiled brightly, touched his arm and said, "Thanks Harry that means a lot.  It was a lot harder with them around.  It took me three tries before it worked."

"Yeah, I know," Harry replied.  "Would you mind telling everyone that?  I think they'd like to hear it from you that once you focused on the happy thought it finally worked."

"You think it would help?"

"I think they'd like to hear it from you since you were right there," Harry softly said.

Harry got everyone's attention and then Cho recounted the attack and how her first two attempts failed.  The students were riveted to her story and Harry could see the pain on Hermione's face at having to recount the memory.  "Once I finally focused on one of my happiest memories, the Charm seemed easy," Cho said looking more confident.  "I'm sure I could do it again," she added, "now that I know what to focus on."

There was mumbling and Hanna Abbott asked, "What was your memory?"

Cho blushed profusely and said, "Well…that's kind of personal…" She paused and added, "Just try focusing on how someone makes you feel.  They don't have to return the feeling or anything, just how being around them makes you feel."

Harry was just about to start organizing the practice again when the door to the Room of Requirement flew open getting everyone's attention.  Harry groaned as the last person he would want to see here stepped through the door.  "Well well well…" Professor Snape smirked.  "What do we have here?"

"We have permission to hold group meetings," Hermione quickly said as most of the students looked worried.

"I'm aware of that Miss Granger," Snape said still looking like the cat that just caught the bird.  "I'm not sure everyone is aware exactly what your group really does though."

"We were just leaving," Harry quickly said stepping near the Professor.  "Meeting's over guys."

Before anyone could leave Snape said, "Not so fast Potter.  You see there are many rumors floating around about what is really going on in here.  It seems some people are under the misguided impression that you're building a little army for yourself."  Snape glanced around the room and was surprised that the students no longer seem worried.  In fact, most of them had moved closer to Harry by now.  Harry started to reply but Snape cut him off, "I for one find that rumor humorous.  The thought that any sensible student would follow someone as reckless as you is preposterous."

Harry fought to control his temper and repeated, "We were just leaving."

"You know your group isn't the only one practicing," Snape sneered as the door opened again and a group of Slytherins, lead by Draco Malfoy strutted in.  Bringing up the rear was Professor Ziter who seemed a little out of place.  Now clear lines had been drawn with the D.A. aligned behind Harry and the Slytherins behind Professor Snape.  Professor Ziter was standing off to the side, trying to figure out what was about to happen.

"Well you can have the room then," Harry said.  "We'll be on our way."

"Afraid of a little challenge Potter?" Malfoy taunted.

"Professor Snape suggested a small dueling competition," Professor Ziter said getting everyone in the D.A.'s attention.  "With everything going on, I felt it would be a good tie-in to our class."

"A few matches should clearly show who's been practicing and who hasn't," Snape said with an evil smile.

Harry heard many 'C'mon we can take them' from the group behind him but he didn't think this was a good idea.  "We'll pass, thanks," Harry said drawing groans from his group.

"Points will be given to the winners and even though Slytherin will get the points in the end, we'd rather earn them," Snape replied.

"This is extra credit in Defense," Professor Ziter added.

Hermione leaned into Harry and said, "We have to do this.  The others will think you don't have any confidence in them if we don't."  Harry sighed, realizing she was right and moved the group to the far corner so they could decide how to proceed.

"Miss Parkinson will be the first from our group," Professor Snape announced and then whispered something to Pansy before she moved to the center of the room.

"Ok," Harry said to his group, "Who wants her?" 

Everyone was begging to take her on but Luna's sing-song voice cut through the rest when she said, "I'd like to try someone I don't like that wasn't a Death Eater."  Harry nodded and Luna moved to face Pansy, seemingly oblivious to the snickers from the rest of the Slytherins.

"Very well," Snape said, "You will start and stop on my mark and the match will end when one has been disarmed."  The Professor leaned in and whispered something to Pansy and then said, "Three…Two…One…Begin!"

Instantly, Pansy sent a bright-orange hex that Harry didn't recognize at once but Luna simply swung her wand in a graceful arc creating a localized shield and the curse rebounded harmlessly away.  In the same fluid motion, Luna's arm came down and she sent a curse back at her opponent, catching the Slytherin girl squarely in the chest.  Pansy grimaced for a second but then smiled when she didn't feel anything else.  The next moment however she gave a couple head shakes and then started scratching her scalp causing large chunks of hair to fall to the ground.  Shrieking at the loss of her flowing hair, the girl forgot about the match, dropped her wand and began collecting the falling locks.  Luna calmly summoned the discarded wand and gave a slight bow to the cheering of the rest of the D.A.

"I always wanted to try that.  And you know, a bald girl can still be pretty," she said moving back into the group.  Once the D.A. members recovered from Luna's stunning performance, they were all congratulating her soundly.

"This should be easy," Ron said and was quickly joined by others.

"Don't be overconfident," Hermione scolded.  "Some of them are bound to be really good." 

Harry silently agreed with Hermione and saw that Marcus Stills was up next.  "I really don't like that git," Dean Thomas snarled.  "Let me have a go at him."

This didn't seem like a good idea to Harry but he remembered something Dumbledore said about giving people chances to prove themselves so he agreed and noticed the look of worry on some of the other members as Dean stepped up to the challenge.

It didn't take long for Marcus to finish Dean off.  Dean had taken his opponent too lightly and hadn't been prepared for a quick barrage of offensive spells.  He was consoled when he made it back to the group.

The next four matches pitted seventh year Slytherins against sixth year members of the D.A. and ended up evenly split.

Ted Nealy was next up for the Slytherin team.  Harry didn't know much about Ted other than he would always go along with what the largest group suggested.  Neville stepped up to Harry and firmly said, "He's always picking on Susan Bones.  Can I try?"

Gone was the old indecision and worry in Neville's eyes and Harry wondered if that was because of real confidence or maybe his feelings for Susan.  Agreeing, Harry sent Neville up next.

"The rest of you back up," Snape coldly said.   "Longbottom's likely to hex the rest of us before he hits Nealy."  The rest of the Slytherins laughed loudly as they backed up.

"Remember what you've already done Neville," Harry said.  "You've taken on worse than him before."  Neville looked Harry in the eye and gave a brief nod before turning back to the duel.

This time it was the Slytherin who took the Gryffindor too lightly and Neville quickly got the other boy backing up.  The advantage didn't last long and it turned into a very evenly matched duel with counter-curses following curses and shields stopping hexes.  The D.A. members who weren't at the Ministry were as stunned as the Slytherins at how good Neville was.  In the end, it was Neville connecting with a simple confundus charm and then asking Nealy for his wand that ended the duel to deafening cheers from the D.A. group.

"I suppose luck counts for something," Snape said.  "I assure you the next one won't end like that…Tice get over here."  Marc Tice, a large threatening looking dark boy stepped over.  He had never done anything directly to Harry and Hermione had even talked to him in the library before but many of the girls in the D.A. group hissed as he went up.

Just as Harry thought about sending Ron or Hermione up Ginny grabbed his arm and said, "I want to take him."

There was a strange look in her eye and Harry said, "Ginny, he's a seventh year and supposed to be really good."

"I don't care…He's….He's said things to me…I can't stand him," she added, almost begging.

"There's no way you're going up there," Ron announced stepping up next to Ginny.

Ginny flashed angrily but then Hermione stepped up and Harry expect her to scold Ron but instead she said, "He's really good Ginny."

Ignoring those two, Ginny turned back to Harry and firmly said, "I want to do this.  Give me a chance."

Before Harry could answer, Ron grabbed his arm and turned him around.  "If you send her up there I'll…"

Ron didn't get to finish because Harry jerked his arm back and snarled, "You'll what Ron?  What!  I used to care what you thought."  After just a second Harry turned back to Ginny and said, "If you're sure."  She nodded and he leaned in and whispered, "Kick is arse Gin."

"I'm not fighting a girl like her," Tice said looking at Ginny like she had some disease.

"Fine then forfeit the match," Harry quickly said drawing scowls from Snape and Tice.  The Professor said something to the boy who didn't look happy but turned back to Ginny and gave a cold kiss with his lips just as Snape said go.

That first curse almost caught Ginny off guard but she was able to dodge it and then get a shield up to block the next curse.  Within a couple minutes, everyone realized this wasn't going to be an easy win for the Slytherin as Ginny gave as good as she was getting.  They each had nearly scored direct hits on the other numerous times.  Ten minutes had passed and both were sweating and showing signs of tiring; Ginny more so than Marc.

Marc swirled his wand causing Ginny to put up a shield but then the hex he ended up sending turned the floor around Ginny into ice and she began to slip.  Ginny quickly tried to say the counter-curse but as soon as her shield dropped, Marc summoned a chair from the side and it crashed into her causing her wand to fly out of her hand and for her to tumble to the ground.  Marc quickly summoned her wand to him, thrusting his hand into the air in victory.

Some of the group was to her quickly and got her up as she continued to rub her head.  Neville handed her wand back and she said, "Sorry Harry, I really thought I could take him."

Harry saw Hermione holding Ron back but he focused on Ginny, beamed a bright smile and said, "You were brilliant though.  I was impressed.  It was just one of those things where he slipped that spell in."

"Thanks," she said nearly mesmerized by his compliments and bright green eyes.  She honestly believed that he was very proud of her.

Just then Hermione came over and whispered, "We're tied now, maybe we should stop."

Harry was torn since part of him didn't want to let Snape or Malfoy know how much he had learned but the other part wanted to show Malfoy who was the better dueler.  He remembered that he promised to give more weight to what Hermione recommended and made a decision.  "We're tied," Harry announced turning around.  "This should be a good place to stop."

Malfoy stepped forward and taunted, "What's the matter Potter…Don't want you're little group to see who's really better."  The rest of the Slytherins joined in the taunting.

"In your dreams, Malfoy," Harry said back matching the boy stare for stare.

"I think one more match should do it," Snape said with an evil smile. "This is a competition after all and we should have a victor."  Then he turned back to the group of Slytherins and added, "Besides, Potter hasn't shown he has any business leading this group now has he."

Harry was having a hard time keeping his hatred for Snape and Malfoy down but Professor Ziter said, "I would be interested in watching this.  If this group has merit to continue with you as the leader, I'd like to see what you can do."

"You're going down Potter," Malfoy snarled as he moved back.

Harry saw that Kari wasn't making any obvious commitments to either side but did give him an 'I'm sorry' kind of look.  He understood her position since she did have to live with them.  Cho however came over, placed her hand on his arm and said, "Wipe the floor with him Harry.  We all know you can do it."  After giving his arm a slight squeeze she moved away and Harry turned to start the duel.

"You both know the rules," Snape said before giving a slight smile to Malfoy.  "Three…Two…O…"  Malfoy in usual style sent a curse before the start but Harry had expected this and casually blocked it away.  There were complaints from the D.A. but the Slytherin group simply laughed.

Malfoy had expected a quick response from Harry but none came.  Harry calmly stood there with his wand at his side.  Malfoy took this opportunity and sent a stunner but Harry got a shield up in time and the hex bounced harmlessly off.  Again Harry didn't respond and could see that it annoyed Malfoy.  After Harry blocked about a dozen curses without responding, Draco was enraged and said, "What are you on about Potter?  Afraid to duel like a man?"  Harry stood there fighting with everything he learned in Occlumency to keep his emotions under wraps.

Another few curses and blocks caused another outburst from Draco.  "What, is this something that mangy pet of yours taught you?   Keep hiding behind things.  Didn't work out too well for him did it?"

That nearly caused Harry to lose all the composure he had but he was able to hold it together although anyone who knew him saw how much the comment hurt.  It was only the voice of Professor Snape that broke his concentration.  "Potter, if you don't duel you will forfeit the match."

There were gasps of complaints but Professor Ziter firmly said, "That's not the rules Professor Snape.  It will end in a draw if neither is disarmed."

Snape seemed furious and said, "Too good to duel like the rest of your group is that it?  Fine to send them up to get hurt but not you.  Wouldn't want to take a chance on getting the famous Harry Potter hurt now would you?"

Harry was seething and heard, "C'mon Potter, I'll give you one free shot."  Malfoy was standing with both arms by his side relishing the cheers from the Slytherin side and noticing that the rest of the D.A. had been watching Harry with some confusion.

"Fine," Harry calmly said then muttered a charm and quickly tapped the air up to his right causing an orange twinkle to form.  Quickly saying the charm three more times and finishing off a square of twinkles Harry gave a glare to Draco and said one more spell, brought the tip of his wand to his mouth, pulled it away causing a silver strand to form and then quickly touched each point of the square.  After all points were connected the area pulsed and then formed into a large orange balloon about two meters across that floated out in front of Harry.  Now there was no sound from the room as everyone was wondering what Harry was doing.  With a quick prod from his wand the balloon started to float toward Draco who stood there looking confused.

At about the half way point Draco said, "That's the best you can do?  A bloody balloon!  Pathetic."  Draco sent a blasting curse at the balloon but it passed harmlessly through and Harry didn't even have to move to avoid it.  Draco seemed annoyed and stepped toward the balloon.

"Don't touch that Draco," Snape quickly said.

The advice was ignored by the arrogant Slytherin and as soon as Draco poked the balloon with his wand, he was instantly sucked inside.  There were gasps from the Slytherin side and some from the Gryffindor side as well before they were drowned out by cheers.  Draco was just floating in the center of this large orange balloon in the middle of the Room of Requirement confused but obviously angry that everyone was laughing.

"Get me out of here!" he exclaimed and then pointed his wand at the side of the balloon.

"I wouldn't do that Malfoy," Harry calmly said.

Malfoy totally ignored the comment and used another blasting curse which instead of passing out of the balloon, caused the shell to pulse and begin to contract.  In only a moment, the shell was tight against Malfoy's head and he had to curl up his legs.  Eyes now wide with fear, he began to struggle as the enclosure constricted in upon him.  "Get me out!" he yelled.

"Potter cancel the spell," Snape demanded.

"I'm sorry Professor, I can't remember the counter.  You know how absent-minded I am," Harry said happy to see the Professor slightly flustered.

"Finite Incantantem" Snape said sending the spell at the balloon.  Inside Malfoy yelped as the spell caused him to feel a slight shock.

"Get me out!" Malfoy yelled becoming almost hysterical.

"Drop your wand and it'll be over," Harry loudly said.

"Potter end this!" Snape bellowed. 

Harry never took his eyes off Malfoy and again said, "Drop your wand!"

A slight motion caught Harry's attention and he saw Snape's wand rise to point at him and instantly, Harry stood fully ready to fight the man with his own wand drawn.  Just then, Harry heard the clank of a wand hitting the ground and mumbled the counter which allowed Draco to fall to the ground with a thud.  Malfoy lunged for his wand but Harry summoned it before the boy could get to it.

"That match is void," Snape yelled.  "That was clearly against the rules."

Harry started to protest but Professor Ziter firmly said, "What rules would those be Professor Snape?  Harry has Draco's wand and therefore is awarded the points." 

The roar from the D.A. group was deafening and everyone was hugging each other.  Harry didn't notice that the Slytherins and Professor Ziter were still around until Snape said, "Potter.  That was a cowardly performance you put on.  You wouldn't last a minute in a real duel."

"He already has!" Ginny yelled from the group and was joined by many other members.

"Yes, yes, we hear all about the things the great Harry Potter has done but how convenient only a few close friends have ever been around." Snape paused and then, "Why don't you show us how you'd perform in a real duel Potter?  I challenge you."  Harry couldn't hide the shock on his face or ignore the worried looks he was getting.  When he didn't immediately answer Snape added, "Or, are you taking after someone else.  Only picking on those you know you can beat?"

"He's only trying to bait you," Hermione quickly said grabbing onto his arm.

"Yeah well he's done it," Harry snapped yanking his arm free and moving to the center of the room.  Harry could almost feel the hairs on his neck standing up he was so angry.

"Students move back," Snape commanded.  "I wish this room was bigger."  After a moment of nothing happening, Harry concentrated on needing a larger room and instantly it expanded, nearly doubling in size. The shocked expression of the Potions Master quickly changed back into his hateful glare.  "You will duel correctly or I'll make you regret it," Snape snarled.

Harry didn't answer, suddenly wondering what he had gotten himself into again.  He faced the Professor and raised his wand in the correct manner waiting for the onslaught that was sure to come.  Then it started and Harry recognized the first hex as an extreme blinding curse which was borderline Dark Arts.  It required a specific localized shield to block but Harry was able to get it up in plenty of time.  Snape was already making the next swiping motion when Harry had just relaxed from deflecting the first curse.

Conjuring a different shield, Harry blocked this curse and then got into the rhythm of casting an offensive spell at any opportunity.  Harry realized the spells Snape was using were strong and could do considerable damage but weren't as bad as Harry thought the man could use.

As the minutes wore on, Snape was obviously getting annoyed but Harry was feeling more confident.  A full-body-bind was the next curse Harry recognized and was able to use a block where his wand formed into a paddle and knocked the spell back towards the caster.  This nearly connected with the Professor who had to side-step to avoid being hit.

From this point, things turned more aggressive both in turns of the types of spells and in the ferocity of attacks.  Harry had surprised himself on a few occasions by the spells he had sent at his Professor.  After casting a hex that would have done considerable damage to Professor Snape, the man began barraging Harry with spell after spell, not giving him much time to cast any offensive spells.  Holding a shield and moving from one type of shield to another began to wear on Harry.

Off to the side, the students were grimacing and watching in awe at the duel going on just in front of them.  For most of them, they had never seen two people go at each other so hard.  Hermione had nearly bitten holes in her hands as she worried about her friend.  At one point, she grabbed the sleeve of the person next to her when Harry had barely avoided a nasty hex from Snape that blasted a hole through a cupboard along the wall.  "Quite a demonstration don't you think?" the calm voice of Professor Dumbledore caught her attention.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed, slightly embarrassed that she had gripped the Headmaster's arm.  The old wizard turned his head back to the action and Hermione asked, "Aren't you going to stop this?"

"Why would I stop it?" Dumbledore asked with that knowing twinkle in his eyes.

"Why?" Hermione exclaimed, annoyed at his calm demeanor.  "He's going to get hurt!"

Dumbledore seemed to sigh a bit and looked at her seriously when he said, "He must learn Miss Granger."

"But Professor.  You can't let him get hurt," Hermione pleaded.

"It was his choice to make," the old wizard replied causing Hermione to just stare as he turned his attention back to the duel.

Harry knew he needed a break and didn't know how much longer Snape could continue to pound his shield.  At the next slight break, Harry pulled his arm in a line from his lower left to his upper right and said the spell that had become one of his favorites from Moody's journal.  Snape had just sent his next hex when there was a slight twinkle and the solid form of Harry Potter vanished into thin air.  The now invisible Harry rolled to his right and knew that as long as he was quiet, didn't cast a spell and wasn't hit, he would remain hidden.

There were many gasps from the students and even Snape stood up straight, looking bewildered.  "He apparated!  When did he learn that?" Ron exclaimed.

"You can't apparate at Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed back.

"Yeah so then where'd he go?" Ron retorted to which Hermione didn't have an answer.

She started to ask Dumbledore who looked like he had just received a Christmas gift when Snape bellowed, "Silence!  Stay back!" Harry was slowly catching his breath and cringed when he saw the Professor say a spell and begin sweeping his arm across.  Flames leapt out of the end of the wand and quickly connected with the invisible Harry's cloak.  Harry immediately caused water to spout from his wand to put them out but the damage was done, he was now visible and Snape had already sent a slicing curse his way.

Diving to the right, he felt the curse catch him in the side and then hit a chair behind him causing it to split in the middle.  Harry was totally focused on his opponent and didn't hear the screams of the students or Hermione's plea to Dumbledore for him to stop the duel.  He only saw the next curse begin to fly at him and didn't think his normal shield could stop it.  He pictured an image that often played through his mind and hoped he remembered the details correctly.  Saying the spell he had only seen done one time, Harry thrust out his empty left hand.  Snape's spell was almost upon him when his view of the man was obscured and a large gleaming shield appeared attached to his left arm.  The next instant there was a loud 'clang' and Snape's spell was deflected away.  Even Professor Snape seemed stunned that a Slytherin shield with a gleaming green snake was now attached to Harry's arm.  The Potions Master knew that this was a favorite shield of the Dark Lord.

Even though the shield was large, it weighed nothing on Harry's arm.  Emboldened by the success of this spell, Harry quickly cast his own curse at the Potions Master.  Moving the shield only slightly, Harry was able to cast an offensive spell and still keep protected.  A couple minutes of both holding the shield and casting spells brought back the uncomfortable feeling of when his magic failed during summer training.  He cast another powerful curse just as Snape sent one back at him.  When the curse struck the shield, it flickered and then vanished.

Glancing at his opponent, Harry saw that Professor Snape was doubled over and knew his spell had also gotten through the man's shield.  However, seeing Harry shieldless caused the Professor to mutter a spell and thrust his wand at the boy.  Uncertain as if his normal shield would hold and too tired to try avoiding the spell Harry recalled a spell he had seen in Moody's journal labeled 'Very Risky'.  Twirling his wand in a small circle in front of him while saying the spell, a small vortex started swirling at the tip and grew bigger until Snape's spell arrived and was sucked into the void.  The impact of the curse caused Harry's arm to be thrown backwards.  Pulling the last of his energy, Harry added his own magic to the spell and wrenched his arm back towards the Professor who now clearly had a look of fear on his face.  The modified spell exited Harry's wand with a massive 'whoosh' and a blinding red light raced toward his opponent.

Professor Snape stood like a deer caught in headlights, unable to process what was happening.  The gasps from the crowd were drowned out by the sound of the spell.  Suddenly, the floor of the room erupted and a solid wall of metal appeared in front of the streaking light causing the spell to crash into the wall; which groaned and began to give off an eerie glow.

Above the groan from the wall, only clapping from a single person was heard and then the Headmaster said, "Very impressive dem….."  Another groan from the metal wall stopped the wizard's comment and with a slight flick of his wand, a second wall appeared just as the first one gave a final groan and collapsed into a pile of molten liquid.  Nothing else was said as the Headmaster watched the second wall absorb the remainder of the spell and only after feeling confident the spell had faded he continued, "As I was saying…Very impressive demonstration…"  With another flick, the wall disappeared, leaving Harry and Professor Snape glaring at each other.  "You are all very fortunate to witness such a fine dueling display.  Imagine how it would have been if they had indeed been trying to hurt each other." 

Neither opponent took their eyes off each other but both did stand up a bit more relaxed.  "Now Harry," Dumbledore said getting his attention, "I do believe you should pay a visit to the Infirmary."

"I'm fine!" Harry snapped, glaring again at Professor Snape.

"Mr. Potter," Professor Ziter firmly said, "you're staining the floor."

Harry looked to his side and saw his robe dripping blood from where the slicing curse had hit his side.  "Damn!" Harry said and yanked up his shirt with his left hand exposing a long gash.  There were many gasps at the sight but Harry mumbled something and roughly drug his wand over the gash causing the skin to smoke and bubble before it pulled back together, stopping the flow of blood.  The students were now all either ill at the sight or shocked at what he was doing.

"Harry," the calm voice of Professor Dumbledore sounded, "Madame Pomphrey will have my skin when she hears of this if she hasn't seen to you herself.  Please humor an old man and pay her a visit."  Harry saw the bright twinkle of the Headmaster's eyes and started to storm toward the door.

Just then Hermione said, "C'mon Ron, we'll walk him."

Harry, still full of anger from his duel with Snape and the things Ron had said earlier snapped, "I don't need his help!" 

The look of shock on Hermione's face and hurt on Ron's instantly made Harry feel guilty, but before he could say anything Ginny grabbed his arm and said, "C'mon Harry let me walk with you."  Harry fell into step behind her and once through the door, the two walked in silence to the Hospital Room.

Back in the Room of Requirement, Hermione stopped Professor Dumbledore before he left and asked, "Professor.  Who were you talking about when you said 'he must learn'?"

Dumbledore seemed to be barely holding a smile as his eyes twinkled brightly and asked, "Whom do you think Miss Granger?"  With that he swept out of the room.

As soon as the door to the Hospital Room was open Harry heard, "Well I knew it couldn't be much longer.  What have you gotten yourself into now?"  As Harry sat on the edge of the bed she noticed the blood, "Oh my!  Now this wasn't a simple accident was it?"

When Harry didn't answer directly Ginny said, "It was a dueling contest."

The woman pursed her lips at Harry and said, "Get that shirt off so I can see."

Ginny fumbled a bit and said, "I'll just wait outside."

Madame Pomphrey who had turned to rummage in a cabinet said, "You want to be a healer don't you Miss Weasley?"

Ginny gave a quick, "Yes"

"Well then this shouldn't bother you much and you might as well get used to it.  Especially considering who your friends are." After a brief pause the woman asked, "I must say I'm a bit disappointed that you let another student do this to you Mr. Potter.  I would have expected you to deal with them handily."

"It was Professor Snape, Madame Pomphrey," Ginny quickly said.

"Professor Snape?" the woman exclaimed.  "Well…Still Mr. Potter I expect you'll do better next time."

Ginny gave Harry a little smile as he rolled his eyes at the comment.  Harry pulled off his shirt, causing Ginny's breath to catch a bit.  She had only seen Harry without a shirt one other time and that was a few years ago.  Years of Quidditch and summer work had definitely been good to him.  Madame Pomphrey's voice grabbed her attention, "Mr. Potter!  I would have thought that after the incident with Gilderoy you would have more sense than to let anyone else try to heal you.  Whoever did this isn't current with healing charms.  If they knew what they were doing, there wouldn't be any scar.  Now, who did you let do this?"

"Um…" Harry mumbled, not wanting to draw her wrath.

"He did it himself," Ginny quickly said.

Madame Pomphrey looked shocked between the two and then asked, "Is this true Mr. Potter?"  Harry nodded and the woman looked at the scar again.  "Well this should take care of that scar since it's so fresh." She lightly rubbed some cream over the area causing a light tickling sensation but when Harry looked down, there was only a very faint line.

"Thanks," he said.

"Yes well apply another coat of this in the morning and it should go away completely," she said.

"Can I go now?" Harry asked hopefully.

"On one condition Mr. Potter," the Matron looked at him intently.  "I want you to come back here and learn how to heal properly before this happens again."  She turned to Ginny and added, "And if you're going to be hanging around him I suppose you should as well Miss Weasley.  Now I'll expect to see you both back here before long."  With that the woman turned and headed to her office.

Harry was shocked at how readily she agreed to let him leave.  "Here, let me take care of those," Ginny said getting his shirt and robe.  She quickly said a cleaning charm and then magically fixed the cut in the fabric.

After pulling his shirt back on he said, "Thanks Ginny.  Suppose I should learn those as well."

"Where did you learn to do that Harry?" Ginny asked, hoping that she wasn't going to make him close off.

For a second she thought that was exactly what was going to happen, but then to her amazement Harry sighed and said, "Well you know people are trying to keep me alive and they've been trying to teach me stuff.  It kind of keeps my mind off of other things."

"We know something's going on," she said, wondering how far to push her luck.

Harry nodded towards the door and the two walked out when he surprised her again by saying, "You know you're too smart for your own good."  With a slight smile he added, "They just think it's really important that I stay alive and well the odds are pretty good that Voldemort won't give up coming after me so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.  I'm not ready to just let him kill me."

"I should hope not!" Ginny exclaimed and she let herself be led through the corridors by him.  "You can talk to me about it if you want."

Before she realized it, they were in front of the portrait of fruit and Harry ticked the pear, causing the passage to open.  The two were at the bottom of the stairs before Harry said, "I know I could talk to you.  If I thought it would help, I would.  It's enough to know that Voldemort will never give up coming after me.  I'm going to be his top priority."

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby exclaimed grabbing onto his knees.  "Miss Weezey!" he said seeing her next to him.  "What can Dobby do for Harry Potter?"

"Hi Dobby," they both said and then Harry added, "We don't feel like going to supper, can we get some down here please?"

"Of course Harry Potter!  Would Harry Potter and Miss Weezey want special food?" Dobby said bouncing in happiness.

"No thanks Dobby, just whatever was for supper," Harry said as they sat down.  He then turned to see Ginny smiling brightly and added, "I should have asked before I dragged you down here.  Is this ok?"

"It's fine Harry," she honestly said.  "Yes you should have asked, but I guess we can overlook it this time."  The food appeared the next moment and the two friends made small talk during the whole meal.

"You know that was really amazing earlier," she said smiling at him.  "I don't think Snape expected you to be able to do all that.  I know I didn't."

"Well that'll teach you to doubt me," he said with a smile surprising both of them that he was teasing her.  Then he got serious and said, "I don't think I should have though.  Dumbledore said Voldemort had been underestimating me but now he'll hear about this.  I should have just let him beat me."

"No way!" Ginny exclaimed.  "Just learn something else and let V…Voldemort underestimate that." Harry smiled broadly at her use of his name. 

Now Ginny looked really serious and said, "Sorry about my git of a brother.  His temper is the worst of all of us."

"Even you?" Harry teased.

"That's what I say," she replied.  "I know he really wants you to come to the Burrow for Holiday.  He just doesn't know how to deal with having a girlfriend and not being able to protect people like you can."

"Fat lot of help I was," Harry corrected her.

"But you would have if you were there," she reminded him.  "Ron should have just said he wished you were there so you could have helped but he lets his temper get the best of him.  You know mum will probably show up here and drag you home if you don't come."

Harry was now feeling guilty.  He wanted to go to the Burrow, mainly so that he could more easily meet Kari but he hated that he felt like he would be using them.  Ginny could see him torn and asked, "What is it Harry?"

"Listen Ginny," Harry said suddenly very focused.  "If I come to the Burrow will you promise not to get mad at me for anything that happens?" She started to say something but he stopped her.  "This isn't just me and Ron. There're things going on with me right now that are…complicated.  People may not be very happy but it's really important to me."

Ginny studied him for a moment and knew it had taken a lot for Harry to tell her that.  "I promise Harry," she honestly said.  "I'd like to know what it is so I could see if I could help you but won't push."

"Thanks.  Then I guess I'll come," he agreed.


	12. The Veil Revisited

Back in the Common Room, all the students were talking about Harry dueling Professor Snape and asking where he learned those things.  It wasn't until Ginny yelled that she'd hex the next person who bothered him that Harry had any peace and quiet.  He was quietly studying his Potions text when Hermione stood and announced, "I'm turning in early tonight."  Harry saw the worried look on Ron's face as she kissed his cheek and then said, "Ginny can you help me with something up in the dorm?"  Ginny quickly agreed and followed her up.

Ron and Harry sat in uncomfortable silence for many minutes.  Harry finally decided to just go to bed but as he stood up Ron said, "Listen Harry…" Harry stopped.  "You know… I just don't know what gets into me sometimes…"  Now Harry turned to look at his friend.  "I just go off the edge where Hermione's concerned."

"Hermione didn't have anything to do with the D.A. meeting earlier," Harry pointed out, reminding Ron of how he acted.

"But that was Ginny!" he exclaimed.  "She was going to take on a seventh year Slytherin."

"And she did great," Harry replied.

"Listen Harry you just don't know how it is."

"Yeah, sorry Ron I don't have a girlfriend or a family so I can't understand how hard things are for you," Harry snapped and saw on Ron's face that his friend regretted saying anything.

"Bloody hell," Ron said sounding exasperated.  "Why don't you just come to the Burrow?   It'll make Her…ah…everybody happy."

It hit Harry what this was really about.  "Hermione's making you say this isn't she?"

Ron fidgeted a bit and softly admitted, "She's not coming unless you do."

Harry felt a bit of happiness that Hermione would say that but even more irritation since that is what it took for Ron to ask.  "Well Merlin forbid you should be away from your girlfriend.  Tell her I'll be there."

"Thanks Harry," Ron said and Harry could tell he meant it but silently wondered if things would ever be near the same anymore.  Without another word he continued up to bed.

Dodging all the questions about the duel the next day was harder than Harry expected.  It seemed the story grew and grew throughout the day and by supper; Harry had supposedly conjured Golems and could have easily beaten Voldemort and all his Death Eaters single-handedly.

When Harry found Kari sitting in the corner near the Room of Requirement she stood, grinned and said, "So You-Know-Who's got no chance huh?"

"Stuff it Boslav," Harry said leading her into the room. 

Quickly the two got to work on the final mixture of the potion and while it was simmering she said, "You're still holding out on me.  None of those things came up in our little lessons."

Harry smiled and said, "I can't just give everything away now can I?"

Kari studied him and nodded, "That's very Slytherin of you, know that?"  All she got was a sly smile in return.  "Got your issues with Weasley worked out?  You'll be there right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there.  I feel like I'm using them though."

"They invited you," she quickly said.  "They want you there."

"But they don't know what I'm going to do.  They'll be so mad," he said.

"Not if we do it right," she said.  "No one has to know.  We're in and out in a couple hours.  You've got something for the guard, right?"

"Yeah, the Weasley twins gave me some Sleeping Snacks.  I've already got them wrapped.  We just need an owl to deliver them, and then we walk in," he said thinking.

"Without us being seen," she added with a questioning look.

"That's the easy part," he said without explaining.

The timer had just gone off so they ladled some potion into two vials and sealed them.  "That's it," she announced.  "Remember, there will only be one guard from 11 until around 3 in the morning.  I'll meet you at midnight.  That should get us there by 12:15 or so...ten minutes to get into the room…few minutes going over everything…twenty minutes inside…twenty to get back…back home in under two hours."

She had a very worried look on her face but Harry confidently said, "No problem, we can do this."

She nodded and said, "See, that's your part in this.  Midnight…Don't be late."

"I'll be there," Harry said as they left the room.

Harry was just about to the Common Room when he was startled by a voice from the shadows, "Would you mind taking a walk with me Harry?"  Turning, Harry saw Professor Dumbledore seeming to just appear from the shadows in front of him.

After the initial shock of seeing the man appear from seemingly out of nowhere Harry said, "Of course sir."

The two had just rounded the corner when Professor Dumbledore said, "It was a very impressive performance but you know of course that you gave away considerable information during the duel.

"I know," Harry said sighing.  "I just couldn't give up.  Snape had to know that."

"Professor Snape, Harry.  And I don't disagree with your actions, it may just make things more difficult in the future," the Headmaster said.  "Do not worry about the ramifications of the demonstration.  I have already spoken to Professor Snape."  Harry instantly wished he could have heard that conversation.  "That was a very interesting shield you used."

Harry new instantly which one the Headmaster was referring to and he said, "I think about how you dueled him that night all the time.  I'd never seen anything like it before.  That was the only shield he used to block your spells."

"Indeed it was Harry," Professor Dumbledore said as the two reached the end of the hall.  "As effective as it was, it will no doubt give Tom more to ponder about your connection to him."

Harry dropped his head and said, "I know sir.  I should have thought about it."

"Maybe," Dumbledore said.  "I believe it will also give him pause when he considers attacking you again.  It is a most advanced shield.  I do not believe any other than Tom and Salazar himself have produced it."

After thinking about this, Harry asked, "Does this make me more like him?"

"It makes you nothing like him," the Headmaster firmly said leading Harry back towards the common room.  "That shield is nothing more than a shield.  I'm sure Tom will ponder the meaning behind it for quite some time but it is just another tool you have in your belt.  Don't consider it for another minute."

After a few steps in silence, Harry said, "Thank you sir."

"I don't know exactly how you learned all those spells Harry," the Headmaster said without slowing his walk, "but you have obviously been dividing your time between very worthwhile endeavors.  Please don't shut others out in your pursuit of knowledge."

By the time Harry considered this comment, the two were in front of the Common Room and after a quick good-bye, the Headmaster disappeared down the hall.

During the train ride back to London, Harry didn't say much, worrying about what he was going to do in a few days took all of his thoughts.  Ginny was only able to draw him into a conversation a few times but as soon as Ron joined the discussion, Harry shut himself off.  If he had paid attention, he could see how this was affecting the other boy and maybe would have tried harder to patch things up but since his concentration was on something else entirely, the opportunities were missed.

Upon exiting the train, Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a tight hug just as soon as she let Ginny go.  "Harry dear," she said, "So glad you agreed to come.  It wouldn't be Christmas without you." 

Harry felt the stab of guilt but said, "Thanks for having me Mrs. Weasley."  Ron had just returned from saying goodbye to Hermione and saved Harry from any more comments from his mom.  The ride to the Burrow was fairly quiet as well.  Harry would only give short answers to any question and Ginny was too worried about him to say much.

"Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said after arriving at the Burrow.  "Take your things on up to the bedroom."  Harry paused as soon as he rounded the corner of the stairs and as he expected he heard Mrs.Weasley ask, "He's not getting any better is he?"  When no response came Harry continued up the stairs, not wanting to feel even guiltier about what his actions were going to do to her if he got caught.

The next two days passed dreadfully slow for Harry.  He was worried about what he and Kari were going to do.  At least the forced time together got Ron and him talking a little bit.  It was still a very strained relationship but seemed as if had regained some hope of recovery.

Early afternoon Harry noticed Ron pacing in front of the fireplace and before it sunk in what he was doing, a soft voice said, "He can't wait for Hermione to get here."  Ginny gave a slight chuckle just behind Harry.  Not a moment later, there was a flash of green and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace with her trunk in tow.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed giving her a hug.  "You finally made it."

The girl stepped back and said, "Ron I told you what time I was coming.  In fact I'm a bit early."

"Well it's a good thing you came when you did," Ginny said with a mischievous grin as she stepped forward, "Otherwise the floor would be ruined from all his pacing."

Harry chuckled as Ron's ears turned bright pink. 

For the next few hours it seemed to Harry like things were getting back to normal between the friends.  Ron was in a great mood and Hermione never brought up any sensitive subjects.

Harry grew more and more distracted as the night wore on.  He was beginning to worry about how long Ron and Hermione would stay up when Mrs. Weasley poked her head into the living room and said, "Ok you lot up to bed.  I'm not going to wake you in the morning to open presents if you oversleep."

Ron started to protest but Hermione said, "That's a good idea.  I was up early this morning opening presents with my family."  She turned to Ron and asked, "Walk me up?"  Ron blushed a bit but quickly stood and followed her up stairs.

"Suppose I should give them a few minutes," Harry said as he watched them go.

"Or you could sneak up and watch," Ginny added and then chuckled at the horrified look on Harry's face.  "I guess not," she playfully added.  After a moment of silence she said, "See Harry it was good you came.  Nothing has gone wrong."

Harry nodded a bit but then said, "There're still a few days left.  Just remember your promise."

She shook her head and said, "You worry too much.  I think we've given them enough time, let's head up."

When Harry entered the bedroom, he saw Ron was just getting into bed and still had a large smile plastered to his face.  Harry was truly happy for his friend.  Arranging the things he would need in his trunk, Harry got into bed and hoped Ron would sleep soundly.  He was surprised by his friend saying, "Goodnight Harry.  I'm glad you came."

Harry hadn't been expecting this but it both lifted his feelings and made him feel even more guilty.  He kept his emotions in check and answered, "I'm glad I came as well.  Goodnight."

After what seemed like forever, Ron's familiar snoring filled the room and Harry quietly got up and opened his trunk.  After dressing, he retrieved the Sleeping Snacks and his cloak before slipping out the door.  Stepping softly and being careful to miss the squeaky steps, Harry paused to make sure there were no voices coming from downstairs.  Satisfied that no one was up, he reached the bottom and was just about to turn toward the fireplace when he heard, "Going somewhere Harry?"

With a quick spin, Harry turned to see Bill Weasley setting in a chair in the corner.  Harry's mind was spinning, trying to figure out how to get out of this and to continue with the plan.  "Um…Well…. I was just thirsty," he said and instantly realized how pathetic that excuse was.

"Thirsty, huh?" Bill said standing up.  Harry now noticed that the elder Weasley brother was fully dressed.  "Kind of over dressed for a quick water run," Bill added surveying him closely.

"How come you came so late?" Harry asked, still trying to think of some way to save the situation.

"Back for Christmas," Bill said still obviously not believing Harry's story.  "This must be the first time you've gotten thirsty since one of us has been around every night." 

'Damn,' Harry thought.  He hadn't considered that an Order member would be around but it made sense with all of the kids back.

"So," Bill calmly said getting Harry's attention, "are you sticking with the water story or do you want to talk about what you were really going to do?"

Harry made up his mind and said, "Actually I'm not feeling very thirsty anymore.  I'll just go back to bed."  Turning he went up a few steps before stopping and saying, "Bill.  I hope you know that I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt any of you Weasleys."

Harry heard the confusion and concern in Bill's voice as he started to say, "Harry.  What's…."

That was as far as the man got because Harry quickly spun around, wand in hand and muttered 'Stupefy!'  causing Bill to fall in a heap on the ground.  Harry went to the now unconscious man, took his want and sat it on the kitchen table before saying "Sorry Bill but I need to be somewhere."  Harry stepped to the fireplace, pulled his hood up around his head, threw in a pinch of powder and said "Diagon Alley" as he silently prayed that he hadn't woken anyone else up.

When Harry stumbled out of the fireplace in the Leakey Cauldron, he quickly made sure his features were still covered by his cloak as he scanned the odd patrons for any sign of Kari.  Just as he was getting worried, someone grabbed his arm and hissed, "You're late!"

"Sorry," Harry said relieved that it was the Slytherin.  "I had a problem getting away."

"We're behind schedule, we need to go," she said but Harry stopped her.

"Wait, we need an owl," he informed her as he stepped up to the bar, trying to look older and larger than he really was.  "How much to use an owl?" Harry asked in a clearly fake voice.

Tom, the barkeep eyed him closely and said, "5 knuts if she's back tonight, 10 if it's longer."  Harry quickly pushed 5 knuts on the bar and took the large, ragged looking owl down from her perch before he and Kari stepped out into Muggle London.

"How are we getting there Harry," Kari asked after they were a block away.

"We'll take a taxi," Harry confidently said as he tied the package to the owl.  "Take this to the guard at the Ministry of Magic please.  And hurry," he added as he tossed the owl into the air.  "I hope she beats us there," he softly said.

The next block was a more traveled street and the two were able to get a taxi without much trouble.  The driver eyed them suspiciously since they both had their hoods up, covering their faces but when Harry gave the address and pushed well over the fare into the man's hand, he turned around and drove in silence.  Kari and Harry were too nervous to say anything either and both just stood on the corner after the taxi driver let them out and watched the car drive away.

"Ok, last chance.  Are you sure about this?"  Kari asked which didn't make Harry feel better.

"What?" Harry exclaimed.  "I just stunned one of the Weasleys to get here.  Of course I'm sure."

Kari couldn't hide her surprise at that statement.  The two stepped into the phone booth and after dialing the number, Harry said, "Harry Potter and…good friend…I'm here to talk to my Godfather."  Harry had forgotten about this part and hadn't planned any good lie.  After a moment that was much longer than the last time he was here, two badges were spat out.

**Harry Potter : Talking to the dead**

**Friend : Witness**

Harry was stunned by the description but pocketed both badges quickly.  "What if the guard isn't out and sees us?" Kari questioned but Harry had already pulled something out of his pocket.  "That's….an invisibility cloak!" Kari said with an amazed expression on her face.

Harry didn't say anything as he threw the cloak over them both.   They huddled together as the lift finally stopped and the doors opened.  They didn't move for a second until Harry slowly pulled her out just before the lift started back up.  Glancing towards the guard desk, Harry breathed a big sigh of relief as the large man was face down on the desk with what looked like half of the candy missing from the package.

Still under the cloak, Harry quickly made his way to the room with rotating doors.  "Show me the Death Chamber," he said with a catch in his voice that the thought of the room caused.  The doors rotated but quickly stopped.  They opened the door straight ahead and quickly stepped through.  Harry concentrated and put the strongest locking charm he could on the door before pulling the invisibility cloak off.

The two just stood there for a minute, looking down at the veil sitting alone in the middle of the room.  Harry felt very warm and shrugged off his winter cloak that had concealed his features so well then noticed that Kari had done the same. Taking a step, he turned to see Kari looking very worried and not moving.  He gave her a slight look and held out his hand for her to take.  She took it and they walked down to the level of the veil.

The voices immediately became audible to Harry who strained to hear them.  When he saw Kari looking at him questioningly, he asked, "Can't you hear them?  The voices?"

She shook her head and said, "I can't hear anything from it."  The girl looked very worried and said, "I don't know if I can do this."  Kari started backing away from the veil slowly.

"Kari we've got to hurry," Harry said now worried about her hesitation.  Trying to hold his nerves in check and knowing there was no turning back, he added, "If you don't want to go, that's ok.  I'm going."  He saw the fear on her face and said, "Listen, I'll be fine.  Give me the potion and necklace, I'm going in."

"I don't know," Kari said seeming very confused.

"I didn't come this far to give up!" Harry firmly exclaimed, snapping Kari into attention.

"Right," she said fumbling to retrieve one vial of potion and then to take the necklace off.  She was about to drop both items into Harry's hand when she firmly grabbed it and said, "I don't want anything to happen to you.  These past months…well...I've gotten used to you being around."

Harry squeezed her hand, smiled a genuine smile and said, "I agree.  It's been great being around you.  I'll come back.  I promise."

Harry put on the necklace and was about to take the potion when she said; "Call for Skylar.  Tell him I miss him."  Harry smiled, nodded and then downed the potion in one quick gulp.  Instantly, he began to feel cold and with a final deep breath, he stepped into veil which fluttered by an unseen wind and then when Harry was completely through, hung as still as before.  Kari had a sudden revelation, something had just become more important than her constant thoughts about her brother; Harry coming back safely.

At the Burrow, Ginny tossed and turned with a nagging feeling that wouldn't leave.  She had woken up and now couldn't get back to sleep.  Deciding that some warm milk may ease her unease, she softly got up and left the room taking care not to wake Hermione on her way out.  Pausing outside of her brother's room, she was relieved to hear Ron snoring away like normal.  'Maybe nothing's wrong after all,' she thought as she continued down the stairs.  Once she stepped off the bottom stair, her optimistic thoughts vanished as she saw a body lying on the floor in front of her.

A shriek, followed by the cry of "Bill!" were the first things out of her mouth.  She then started yelling "Mum!  Dad!" as she bent down and realized the Bill was still breathing.  She called out again for her parents just as her father came charging down the stairs followed closely by her mother.

"My dear lord!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"He's just stunned," Arthur said as he stood up and was about to cast a spell when Hermione gasped and then Ron said, "What the hell happened?"

"Eneverate," Mr. Weasley said and Bill slowly came out of his stunned state and shook his head.

"My boy," Mrs. Weasley said hugging the still confused man.  Ginny joined her mother in the hug.

"What happened to him?" Ron demanded.

"Yes Bill, what happened?" Arthur questioned as Bill sat on the arm of the couch and tried to clear his head.

"I was talking to Harry when…." Bill said and then trailed off.

"Where is Harry?" Hermione demanded as everyone turned to Ron.

"He wasn't in the room when I came out," Ron said and then looked at Bill.

"Bloody Hell," Bill exclaimed standing up, "The little bugger stunned me!"

"What?" the other voices in the room rang out.

"He came down fully dressed with his winter cloak and when I said something, he got really nervous and said he was just thirsty," Bill shook his head and looked really mad.  "I didn't push him about it and when he started back upstairs, he said something about never intentionally hurting a Weasley and then he stunned me."

Arthur eyed his son closely and saw Bill give a nod so he went to the fireplace and said, "Headmaster Dumbledore!"

It was only a few seconds before the head of Professor Dumbledore came to the fire, "Arthur.  What can I do for you at this hour?"

"It's Harry sir," Arthur said and the others saw the instant change in the Headmaster.  "He's gone."

"Taken?" Dumbledore questioned.

"No sir, he left," Arthur said and felt the drop in the pit of his stomach.

"I'll be there directly," Dumbledore said and then vanished.

"Did he say anything to any of you?" Arthur quickly asked the children.

They all shook their heads looking at each other, hoping for any sign that someone knew where Harry may have gone.  "I knew he wasn't doing well," Molly said as she began to cry.

"Now mum," Bill said comforting the woman.  "He seemed ok when he came down.  Maybe he just went out for a bit."

"Right," Ron sarcastically said.  "Harry doesn't 'go out for a bit'.  And even if he did, he wouldn't stun you to get out."

Just then there were some 'pops' and three people appeared in the living room.  Tonks, Remus Lupin and Headmaster Dumbledore all appeared with very worried expressions.  "Could you please tell me exactly what happened?  Don't leave out any detail," Dumbledore asked calmly.

Bill recalled the events with more detail now that his head was clearer and then Ginny added how she found her brother.  Professor Dumbledore got up, moved to the fireplace before muttering a charm. The ghostly figure of Harry Potter showed up and they heard him say 'Diagon Alley' before vanishing.

"I'll see if Tom noticed him come through," Dumbledore said before vanishing.

"Yeah, I want to be here when you bring him back," Bill menacingly said.

"Let us help!" Ron exclaimed.

"You are not leaving this house if I have to guard the fireplace myself," Molly roared.

It only took a couple minutes before Professor Dumbledore came back.  "Well?" Ron quickly questioned.

"Tom saw someone about Harry's build come through the fire around midnight," Dumbledore paused and saw Bill nod his head.  "He met up with another cloaked figure and they rented a delivery owl before exiting into Muggle London."  The Headmaster studied the faces of the others in the room before asking, "Do any of you have any idea where he might have gone?"

Ron obviously had no idea and Ginny seemed clueless as well.  Hermione seemed to be trying to put something together so the Headmaster asked, "Miss Granger?"

"I don't know sir.  I can't believe he would go there?"  Hermione said and then paused.

"Hermione," Lupin prodded trying hard to restrain himself.

"He's been pretty obsessed with the veil that Sirius fell through," she said causing Molly and Tonks to gasp.  "He wouldn't go back there would he?  I mean what would that accomplish?"

Dumbledore seemed to age many years right in front of their faces.  Lupin visibly stumbled for a second before catching himself.  "No!" Tonks firmly said.  "Harry would NOT go through the veil.  He wouldn't do that!"

"I knew telling him about everything was wrong," Molly challenged.  "How could anyone his age take that much responsibility?"

"Molly," Dumbledore said regaining his form.  "That is Harry's information to share..."  Molly turned to see Ron, Hermione and Ginny watching her closely.  "I for one do not believe that Harry will use the veil as a way to escape.  Nymphadora, Remus," he added with a firm look.  "Let's go make sure shall we."  He held up his hands to show the discussion was over and the three vanished with quick 'pops'.

"I want to know what responsibility Harry has!" Ginny demanded in a voice that sounded quite like her mother.  Ron stood behind her nodding.

"I suppose…." Molly began but Arthur put his hand on her arm and said, "I'm sure Harry will tell you when he feels comfortable."  He gave a pleading look at his wife who softened quite visibly.

"But what if he…." Molly started before breaking down into tears.

"They'll get to him Mum," Ginny said rubbing her mom's back as she softly added, "Harry wouldn't do that.  They'll find him."

Harry no longer felt as cold and slowly opened his eyes after stepping through the veil. He hadn't known what to expect but seeing nothing but a calming blue light in every direction still surprised him.  Remembering what Kari had read to him from the journal Harry focused and called out "Sirius Black".  Turning in every direction, hoping for some sign, Harry only saw blue.  Focusing even harder he called, 'Sirius Black' one more time but again nothing changed.  'Am I dead?' he thought to himself.  'Is this what happens?'

Harry felt like he was about to break down and cry when another thought crossed his mind.  Focusing with all he had, he called, "James Potter!"  He then focused and said, "Skylar Boslav".  A section of the blueness seemed to brighten and Harry took of in a run toward the lighter area.  The area was getting brighter, and even when Harry stopped for a quick rest, it continued brightening.  A shadowy figure seemed to be taking shape and suddenly standing before his eyes was the form of a man he had only seen in scant few photographs but instantly recognized.  "Dad?" Harry gasped and the man smiled brightly.

"Son," James said hugging his son tightly.  "I'm so sorry son," James continued.  "You're too young to have died."

"Died?" Harry said stepping back.  "No…I'm not dead."  Harry remembered his Godfather and said.  "Listen, I don't have much time.  Have you seen Sirius?"

"Sirius?  Oh no…"  James seemed shocked but then thought for a second and said, "I haven't seen him.  You called me to you, did you try with him?"

"I tried," Harry said still looking into the eyes of his father.  "He didn't come."

"Then he isn't here," a cold voice said from off to the side, startling them both.

"Who are you?" James quickly asked but Harry tentatively said, "Skylar?"

The new visitor studied Harry for a second before realization hit his face. "You're Harry Potter!" the man said and then noticed Harry's necklace.  "And where did you get that?"  James Potter was staring at his son, confused about what was going on.

"I'm a friend of Kari's.  This is hers…well yours…" Harry said not noticing that his father seemed totally lost.

"She's here?  You didn't let her come did you?" Skylar asked, suddenly worried.

"No, she's waiting for me on the other side," Harry answered.

"Other side?" James questioned.  "Harry…So you're really not dead?  And what about Sirius?  Take your time son."

"I don't have time! I'm not dead, dad. I'm fine," Harry said with another hug.  "Sirius was cursed and fell through the veil and I came to try and talk to him.  To tell him I was sorry…." Harry's voice faltered as he said the final part.

"It's ok son," James said as his son fought to control his emotions for his Godfather.

"Was he dead when he went through the veil?" Skylar firmly asked.

"Does it matter?" James questioned the other man.

"Yes it matters," Skylar spat out.  "Listen Potter.  I wouldn't know what's with Kari and you but if she lent you this necklace than she obviously trusts you and you must believe that neither she nor I were supporters of You-Know-Who.  If this Sirius was critically hurt but not dead when he fell through, then he's in a horrible place."

Now both James and Harry listened intently to the man.  "If you die you can come here depending on your past," he said pausing.  "If you go through the veil alive, it sucks all the life out of you, you die and you come here.  This hasn't happened in many years, since the Ministry banned executions with the veil."   After a pause, he said, "But, if you are mortally wounded and go through the veil, it doesn't suck anymore life out of you but you aren't brought here either.  You are left in a place between the living and dead worlds.  You never get better and you never die.  You are condemned to eternity in the state you were when you fell through the veil.  If your friend was cursed and in pain, he will endure that pain for eternity."

"No!' Harry gasped.  "That can't be right."  He saw the look of horror on his father's face and said, "Dad, it's my fault he got hurt.  Voldemort led me into a trap and Sirius came to rescue me.  He's stuck there because of me."

James couldn't grasp all that had happened to his son, so he just pulled him into a hug.  Skylar's voice caught his attention, "Tell Kari I'm sorry.  I should have stopped Damien from joining them.  Tell her I miss her."

He turned and started to walk away when Harry yelled, "Isn't there anything I can do for Sirius?"

Skylar paused and said, "Not unless you can find a way to kill him."

"Listen Harry," James said, "we'll figure something out to help Sirius.  There's so much I want to know.  I want to hear everything about your life.  Can you call your mother?  That's the only way to get her here."

"Mom!" Harry gasped.   He hadn't even thought of calling her. Harry knew his time was running out but he focused and called, "Lily Potter!"  "Dad, I don't have much time.  The necklace is going to pull me back out any minute.  I should have called mom from the start."

"Oh Harry," James said.  "Tell me anything?  Are you doing well." He paused and said, "Obviously not if Voldemort is trying to kill you."

Harry saw the necklace start to flash and knew he was about to get pulled away, "I'm fine dad.  I play Quidditch…I'm the seeker.  I miss you so much."  Turning he saw a figure with long red hair step into focus.  Her eyes got wide and he saw how bright green they were.  She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  He threw his arms open and stepped toward her just before he felt suddenly cold and then found himself sliding across the floor of the Death Chamber.  "No!  Not yet!"

Instantly he had arms around him and Kari said, "Oh Harry I was so worried.  Are you ok?"

Harry latched onto the girl and just clutched her tight, trying to keep himself from breaking down and crying.  Kari was shocked and could tell something had affected him deeply but didn't let him go.  After a minute or two of this Harry composed himself and said, "Sorry about that."

"It's ok Harry," she said, wiping away her own tears.  "What happened?"

"I found my dad," he said with a small smile.  "And Skylar!  I saw Skylar."

"You did!" she exclaimed.  "Did he say anything?"

"He said he misses you and he's sorry about Damien," Harry said as he saw her tear up.  Then it hit him the other thing Skylar said.  "Sirius!" Harry exclaimed standing back up.  He quickly told her what Skylar said about falling through the veil.

"Oh Harry," she said.  "I'm so sorry."

Harry wasn't going to let it just go that he couldn't see Sirius.  Only one thing was on his mind and it was what Skylar had said.  "Unless you can find a way to kill him.' Thinking Sirius had died weighed heavily enough but he couldn't deal with knowing he caused his Godfather to suffer for eternity. 

Harry stood and began pacing, ignoring Kari's questions.  Finally, he stopped, looked over at one of the benches and noticed part of the side was broken off.  The shape of the broken part got him thinking.  He walked over to the part and felt the tip wincing at his current line of thinking about how Sirius got to be trapped.  "Harry what are you doing?" Kari asked as Harry pulled the piece off the bench and looked at it.  It was about two feet long, slender with a sharp point on one side.  He winced again as his finger touched the sharp point.

"You still have the other vial don't you?" Harry asked not taking his eye off the piece of wood.

"Yes but I'm not going in," she said obviously terrified at the idea.

Harry approached the veil, then turned to her and said, "I'm going back in."

"No Harry," Kari quickly said.  "Once is enough, you can't help Sirius."

"Skylar gave me an idea," Harry said thinking hard.

"What?  What did he say?" Kari questioned.

"There's no time.  I think I can find Sirius," Harry firmly said causing the girl to just stare. He started rambling, "Ok then.  I'll take the potion, summon this piece of wood but won't catch it.  It should do enough to mortally wound me.  I'll fall through the veil but won't get any worse.  Then I should be able to find Sirius."

"What are you talking about?" she asked but quickly saw he was very serious.  "That's insane!"   Kari couldn't believe Harry was saying this.  "Even if you do manage to fall through the veil and find Sirius, then what?  How are you going to help him?"

Harry thought only for a second and said, "I'll kill him." Kari just stared at him.  "If that will let him pass on to the other side, I'll just kill him.  I mean if I'm the one who has to kill Voldemort than I'm already destined to be a murderer, and this would be better for Sirius…I can do this."

'Kill Voldemort?' she heard.  Harry had said this like matter-of-fact.  "Harry listen…" she started but Harry cut her off.

"No!  We don't have enough time.  Give me the vial," Harry demanded and Kari handed it over with shaky hands. 

Harry sat the piece of wood on the floor and then moved to the veil.  He thought about what he was about to do and turned to Kari.  "Do you know any numbing spells?"  The girl nodded.   "Ok, can you cast one on my stomach and hopefully the wood will hit there?"

Kari moved to him and cast a numbing spell on his stomach.  Tears were starting to drip down her face.  Harry grabbed her hand and said, "I can't take the chance that I'll miss or not fall through the veil.  I need you to do it."

She looked horrified at the thought and began shaking her head no.  "Kari listen," Harry calmly said.  "I'm going to do this and if I miss, it won't work. Please."

"You're really going to do this no matter what aren't you?" she asked now convinced there was no stopping him.

Harry nodded and said, "Now as soon as I fall through, you take my invisibility cloak and go get help.  Make up some story that I dragged you here or something but try to find someone.  I'll take the blame."

Harry stood back in front of the veil and Kari picked up the piece of wood looking very nauseous.  Harry nodded to her and was about to drink the vial when he stopped, studied her confused face for a second before walking up to her and asking, "Kari would you go to the Valentine's Ball with me?"

The question almost didn't register to the Slytherin girl but she saw the pleading look in Harry's face and it got her focused. "You come back safe Harry and I'll go with you.  Just make sure you come back," she said and then kissed him quickly on the lips.

Harry gave a quick smile as he stepped back to the veil, opened the vial and downed the contents in one gulp.  He nodded to Kari as she pulled her arms back and with all her might, thrust the wood into Harry's stomach.  The pain wasn't as intense as Harry was expecting, it was a sharp local pain, nothing like the Cruciatus curse.  The blood started flowing freely as soon as the wood was pulled back. As Harry stumbled backwards the pain intensified, he began to feel lightheaded and he suddenly began to think he had made a terrible mistake, but once he fell through the veil, the pain stabilized. 

The coldness of his last trip through the veil was replaced by heat.  Oppressive heat that seemed to bear down on him.  The pain from being stabbed still pulsed and he hoped the numbing spell wouldn't fade.  His robes and hands were now covered in blood but on inspection he realized the wound, while open wasn't bleeding any more.

Having determined that he wasn't getting worse, Harry surveyed the surroundings and found it quite different than his last trip into the veil.  The calming blue had been replaced by blackness.  The gentle softness of the area replaced by hardness and uncertainty.  Turning around, Harry could swear he saw small flashes that looked like eyes peering from the darkness but when he tried to focus on them, they disappeared, only to seem to appear in another location.

Grimacing as another pang of pain from his wound doubled him over; Harry focused and called out "Sirius Black". Turning as quickly as he could, Harry couldn't see any difference in the surrounding area other than moving flashes of eyes watching.  Beginning to panic Harry thought, 'He has to be here.  Please.'  Focusing even harder, he called, "Sirius Black!"

Turning around again, Harry almost missed one direction being slightly lighter than the rest.  "Sirius?" Harry asked to no one and began to walk as best he could in the direction of the lighter area.  After many steps, it obviously began to get lighter directly in front of him but every other direction was still pitch black, only the eyes were now not making any attempt to hide, they were watching his progress intently.

With a final call of "Sirius Black", it was considerably brighter and Harry saw a shape lying on the hot uneven ground just in front of him.  'Sirius!' he exclaimed momentarily forgetting his pain and stumbled to his godfather lying motionless on the ground.

The body lay face down on the ground with one arm underneath and the other, still clutching a wand, held out as if he had crawled to this spot.  As soon as Harry touched his Godfather, the body began shaking as if trembling in fear.  Harry rolled the man over and nearly fell backwards at the haunted look in Sirius' eyes.  The arm that had been under his godfather now fell limply to the side and Harry saw the scorch marks across his torso from Bellatrix' curse. 

"Please Sirius," Harry cried.   Pulling on the scorched area of Sirius' robes revealed scalded and still bubbling flesh. The act of moving the robe caused Sirius to involuntarily shudder in pain.

"I'm so sorry," Harry cried watching his godfather tremble with a mixture of pain and fear.  The gravity of Harry's guilt came crashing down and he cried out, "Please let me take his place!"

When no sound came, Harry stood with tears threatening to stream down his face and prepared to do his best to relieve Sirius' suffering.  With wand in hand, Harry shuddered from his own pain and the thought that he was about to kill his Godfather.  Not knowing if he could do it or not, Harry was frozen.  Even though he knew this would end Sirius' eternity of suffering, he wasn't sure he could mean it enough to say the curse.

A strangely familiar voice sounded before Harry could get any further, "That won't work here."  Turning with wand thrust towards the voice, Harry noticed a shadowy figure standing just beyond his sight.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

"The question is," the haunting, calm voice said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" 


	13. Back From the Veil

The figure stepped forward and Harry forgot everything else.  This was a version of someone Harry had seen in two other forms so far.  One as a seventeen year old Hogwarts student and the other as something barely human that had tried to kill him the past two years.  "You!" Harry exclaimed.  "It can't be!"

"You know me?" The older version of Tom Riddle said stepping closer.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled in place of an answer but as Tom had said, nothing came out of his wand.

As the man stepped forward, Harry moved to block Sirius' body from him.  "You look familiar," Voldemort said with a questioning look in his face.

"Yeah well you did try to kill me," Harry spat back not lowering his wand even though he knew it wouldn't help.

"If I had tried you would be dead," Voldemort said but did look a bit confused.  "Unless…" he added looking at Harry in a new light.  "You're the boy!" Voldemort hissed.  "The Potter boy."

"Good guess Tom," Harry spat.  "Now what are you doing here?"

"Such insolence!" the evil Wizard spat.  "Tom Riddle is gone, I am Lord Voldemort!"

"Yeah, Yeah I've heard this before," Harry quickly replied still keeping himself between Tom and Sirius.  "Witch mother -died, Muggle father –killed him, left in orphanage.  Heir of Slytherin.  Tell me something I don't know."

Harry could tell Tom had never expected a boy to talk to him like that.  With a motion quicker than Harry was expecting, Tom slashed his wand up and called, 'Avada Kedavra'.

After the shock of hearing those words quickly passed, Harry said, "Doesn't work here Tom!"  The man took a step forward but Harry didn't back down and saw the confusion in the evil man's eyes.  He was clearly surprised that Harry didn't back down.

"What are you doing here boy?" Voldemort questioned.

Harry quickly thought about Sirius and knew he didn't have much time so he said, "I'm here to kill him."

Voldemort laughed just as coldly as Harry remembered before saying, "Kill him!  How?  Magic won't work here.  Are you going to strangle him?  Watch him as the life slowly seeps out?  I don't think so.  I can smell your indecision."

Harry looked at Sirius' body and thought there was no way he could kill him like that.  During his lapse of attention, Voldemort had stepped up and kicked Sirius right in the cursed spot causing the man to shake violently with pain.  "You can't kill him but now that I know he means something to you, I can make his stay here most… interesting," Tom said with a mad laugh.

"No!" Harry screamed, forgetting everything and lunged at the man who wasn't expecting anything so bold.  One of Tom's hands connected to Harry's head but Harry's hands got through and were now around Tom's throat.  He may not be able to do it to Sirius but he could do it to Tom.

Voldemort was much stronger but just as he pulled Harry's hands away, Harry heard the hiss he had heard once before and smelled the familiar disgusting smell.  Voldemort was now screaming in agony and Harry saw that the skin where he touched was burnt and raw.  Harry tried to seize this opportunity and grab the man again but with sudden movements, Voldemort had taken a few steps back and disappeared into the blackness still groaning in agony.

Harry was about to go after the man when he noticed the necklace begin to pulse, indicating he only had a moment before being pulled back out.  Looking back at Sirius, Harry pulled off the necklace while he ran to his Godfather.  Throwing himself on top of the body, Harry pulled the necklace around both of their heads just as he felt the tug.

Hermione and Ginny were sitting with Ron in his bedroom with Hermione sitting very close to Ron and Ginny sitting on the edge of Harry's bed staring at his pillow.  "You don't think that Harry would really…you know..." Ron hesitantly asked.

"I don't know Ron," Hermione answered through the tears.  "He's been so depressed since Sirius died.

"Whatever else is going on with him, it's got to be huge if he's gone to…," Ron added.

"Harry would NOT kill himself!  I don't care what anyone says," Ginny exclaimed as if trying to convince herself.  Then after a moment of silence she softly said, "I couldn't deal with it if he's gone."

"Oh Ginny," Hermione said moving to hug her friend and knowing that they felt exactly the same.  The three hadn't gotten along the same this year but Hermione just couldn't imagine a world without Harry.  He was such an important part of her life and the thought that he wouldn't be there was too much to bear. 

"He'll come back Ginny," Ron added but this wasn't what Ginny wanted to hear.

"Then you can tell him how he tries to hurt us and only thinks of himself.  Or maybe so you can blame everything on The Boy Who Lived," Ginny spat and Ron was take aback at the venom in her voice.

"Ginny," Hermione softly said, "You know Ron didn't mean that."

"I know," Ginny finally admitted with an apologetic look at her brother but then added, "Harry doesn't though."  That was the key to what Hermione and especially Ron were feeling.  They had let their relationship with Harry become very strained this year as the two of them got closer together.  Ron hadn't thought of much else other than those words to his best friend.

Kari Boslav had watched with total hopelessness as Harry; blood flowing freely from his wound, fell through the veil.  She had possibly just killed someone who she now realized had become very important in her life.  She hadn't planned on getting this close to Harry Potter, it just happened.  He treated her better than anyone in the other houses and even better than most Slytherins.  Snapping herself out of her despair, she grabbed his invisibility cloak and was just about to run when a loud bang caused the door to burst open and she stared at a sight that sent shivers up her spine; a very angry Professor Dumbledore.

"Where is Harry Miss Boslav?" Dumbledore demanded as Professor Lupin and another woman she seen once before stepped into the chamber.

'This is it,' she thought, 'I'm going to Azkaban for the murder of The-Boy-Who-Lived.'

"Miss Boslav," the firm voice continued.  "I need to know now."

Looking into those powerful eyes, she knew she had to tell.  "He…He ..went…through…."  she broke down at reliving the moment.

Tonks gasped and then exclaimed, "No! Harry would NOT kill himself!"

Lupin had noticed something and exclaimed, "Blood!  Who's blood is this?"

Lupin was rounding on Kari with the piece of wood Harry had been stabbed with but Professor Dumbledore held him back and questioned, "Miss Boslav?"

"He begged me to!" she exclaimed, clearly terrified at the look on Professor Lupin's face and then looking at Tonks she added, "He didn't kill himself.  He went to kill Sirius!"

That was obviously not at all what the three adults had expected to hear and the room turned suddenly silent.  It even took Professor Dumbledore a moment to regain his thoughts before he calmly asked, "Miss Boslav please start at the beginning and tell us exactly what happened as quickly as you can."

Kari told them the whole story and as she repeated it, the enormity of what she and Harry had done began to sink in.  She was totally broken down and crying as she told them about stabbing Harry before he fell through.  As she said this, Lupin snapped the wood and Tonks wondered if the man would transform right before their eyes. 

The Slytherin was obviously terrified of what would happen to her but Professor Dumbledore lightly put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Well it seems we have a few more minutes before Harry comes back."  Tonks and Lupin looked at his calm demeanor with astonishment.  "Nymphadora," he continued, "would you please escort Miss Boslav upstairs so she may floo home?"

"What?" Tonks and Lupin exclaimed as Lupin continued, "you're letting her go?"

"I'm not leaving Harry!" Kari exclaimed.

"Miss Boslav," Dumbledore calmly said, "You will return home and not mention anything about this night to anyone, is that understood?"  The girl saw the seriousness in his eyes and sheepishly nodded.  "Nympharoda," Dumbledore added, "please see that she gets safely into the floo and return directly."

Tonks looked like she wanted to arguer but instead turned to Kari and firmly said, "Move!"  The two walked in silence until they got to the main room where the guard was still out cold where Tonks grabbed the girl's arm and turned her around.  "Listen," she roughly said before releasing the girl and composing herself.  In a calmer voice she continued, "You have no idea how important Harry is to our side and to me personally." Kari started to say something but Tonks cut her off, "Just listen.  There are many people, including the three of us who would willingly give our lives for him."  This obviously stunned the Slytherin but Tonks continued, "He seems to trust you more than he trusts us and I think you've been good for him BUT," she firmly stated, "if I think for a second that you are a risk to him I guarantee you'll never get close to him again."  Tonks saw the hurt in the girl's face and added, "If you're going to keep hanging around him, help us keep him safe.  He seems to be talking to you and that's good.  Just don't let him put himself in danger.  Ok?"

Kari nodded but then pleaded, "He just missed his Godfather so much.  I want to know he's ok."

Tonks now nodded and said, "I know.  You go home and I promise I'll let you know how he is." She leaned in closer and said, "He is the most important thing to a lot of people.  Don't forget that."  Tonks watched as the girl vanished in the floo and then in a run headed back to the death chamber.

"Remus," Professor Dumbledore said as the other man glared at the two women leaving the room, "I need to get medical help for Harry.  I will return momentarily."

Remus nodded as the man vanished and silently hoped that Harry would not return before help arrived.  Looking at the bloody piece of wood in his hands, Lupin had felt he had failed his friends again.  'I just got custody of him,' he thought as he tried to keep the emotions from welling up.  Looking at the veil, Remus couldn't believe that only 7 months ago his best friend had fallen through it and now Harry had gone through apparently to kill Sirius.  He knew Harry had originally felt Sirius' death was his fault but thought the boy had come to grips with the loss of his Godfather and the guilt.

He was surprised by a light touch on his shoulder.  Glancing up, he saw Tonks' worried expression, but just that moment, 'pops' signaled the return of the Headmaster and along with him were two Healers with large bags. 

"We should be prepared for his condition," Dumbledore calmly said as the Healers looked at each other.  "Please do not ask any questions," Dumbledore said to them, "I will be in your debt for any assistance you can provide in the coming moments."  One of the Healers nodded but it was obvious they didn't know why they were there.

After an agonizing couple minutes of silence, Tonks softly asked, "Do you really think he'll do it?"

"If he finds his Godfather in torment and that is the only way to relieve him….Yes he will," Dumbledore said with strained confidence.

"I can't believe he went through and saw James," Lupin said, shaking his head at the thought.

"Remus," Dumbledore cautioned with a slight look at the Healers who were trying to listen to the conversation.

A slight twitch of the veil made everyone snap to attention and with a shudder, the veil floated up as a lump of robes slid across the floor leaving a trail of blood behind.  "Harry!" Lupin exclaimed but Dumbledore held him back as the two Healers stepped up.

One of the Healers gave a gasp as she pulled the lump onto his back.  "Sirius?" Lupin now questioned as he struggled to keep his balance.  He then looked at Harry and asked, "Will he…they be alright?"

The Healer looked at Professor Dumbledore sharply but the Headmaster said, "It seems I was fortunate to bring you both.  They are of the utmost importance to me.  No one can know."  The two Healers nodded then Dumbledore asked, "Their condition?"

"They both seem to have the same injuries, but the boy's seem fresher…."

"The same?  But Sir….," Tonks exclaimed.

"Nymphadora," Dumbledore cautioned.  "Continue," he said to the Healer that was still trying to figure out what happened.

"He should make a full recovery."  The Healer looked at Harry then said, "Mr. Po…the boy's puncture wound is worse but nothing difficult to fix.  The curse didn't do as much damage to him."

"Please see to them.  I will collect them both very soon," Dumbledore said as the Healers produced portkeys and vanished with Sirius and Harry.

"That…." the Headmaster softly said after a moment of silence, "was most unexpected."

"I told you Harry wouldn't run," Tonks said still looking at the veil and then noticed Remus just staring at the spot the two had vanished from.  "Remus?" she softly asked.

Lupin looked between the two, the veil and then back to the bloody piece of wood in his hands before saying, "I don't think I can take much more of this.  I can't lose him again."

Tonks hugged the man who now looked frailer than she could ever remember.  The three stood around in silence until Dumbledore said, "We should leave before the guard wakes up.  I must ask Harry exactly what he gave the man, they could be very useful."  After shaking his head, he continued, "Nymphadora, would you return to headquarters and make sure no one else finds out anything about the events of this evening.  Not a word of this to anyone."

She nodded and then said, "They're going to be ok Remus.  He's back."  With that she vanished.

"Remus," Dumbledore said, eyeing the man with a concerned look.  "Could you please inform the Weasley's that Harry will be fine.  Please impress on them that they are not to discuss any of this with anyone.  Not even other Order members."  Lupin didn't answer for a moment so Dumbledore said, "Harry will be fine and Sirius is back.  As much…stress as he placed on us this is a wonderful Christmas present."

Lupin looked up and tried to give a slight smile before apparating to the Burrow.

The students were still in the bedroom when they heard their mother demand to know about Harry so they all barreled down the stairs coming to stop at the vision of an obviously bothered Professor Lupin.  The man was looking blankly at the faces in the room and seemed to be holding onto the table for support.  This instantly gave the others the worst impression, causing Mrs. Weasley and Hermione to start crying.

"Did you find him Remus?" Arthur asked as calmly as possible, fearing the worst.

"Um…yes..yes we found him," Lupin stumbled, finally getting  the words out.

"Sit down Remus," Bill suggested and Remus took the closest seat.

"Professor," Hermione asked, "Did he…is …" the girl broke down at this point.

Lupin looked at the distraught faces and realized that his behavior was making things worse but had a hard time composing himself.  "No Hermione… He's…They're going to be fine," he finally got out.

"Oh bless Merlin," Molly exclaimed as she let out the breath she was holding.  "Where's the poor boy at?"

"You said 'they're going to be fine' who else go hurt?" Ginny demanded.

"Oh no," Hermione said.  "Who did he drag with him?"

This was the wrong thing to say with Ginny around as the younger girl exploded, "Drag!  Harry doesn't 'drag' people.  If you'll remember he told us all to stay last year."

"Ginny," Bill said putting a hand on her shoulder…  "Remus, who else was hurt?"

Remus caught each of their eyes and then, pulled himself together and calmly said, "No one else was hurt."  They started to question this but he shook his head, took a deep breath and continued, "Harry and Sirius are going to be fine.  Harry went into the veil and brought Sirius back."

The silence seemed to stretch on as each person had the oddest look on their faces.  It wasn't until Hermione exclaimed, "That's impossible!  Sirius died!  I told Harry all year that he was dead."

Ginny glared at the other girl but Professor Lupin said with the annoyance clear in his voice, "I for one am glad that Harry decided to listen to himself because Sirius is in critical condition but very much alive."

"Oh Professor," Ginny exclaimed as she hugged the man.

Hermione felt the coldness in her former Professor's voice and the gravity of what happened hit, causing her to nearly pass out right there.  She had threatened to tell Professor Dumbledore that Harry kept thinking about the veil and all the time Harry was right.

"Remus, what happened?" Molly asked still seeming to be in shock.

"No one is to know of this, do you all understand?" Remus asked and they all nodded.  "You cannot even discuss this with other members of the Order," he stressed and they saw he was very serious.

Remus went on to tell them only the part about Harry coming out of the veil with Sirius clutched to his chest.  He also told them they suspected Harry stabbed himself with the wood and that was how he got hurt.

"What if he was wrong?  He would have died!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes," Remus said finding himself agreeing with Hermione, "but Harry felt very strongly about this and he was willing to do anything…" Remus looked at Bill whom Harry had stunned to make his escape, "to see Sirius."

"I guess I won't make him suffer too much," Bill said squeezing Ginny's shoulder.

"But how could he think he could bring Sirius back?  That's just so far out there?" Ron asked, finally speaking up.  Everyone seemed to agree this was a good question.

"Well…" Remus began, not wanting to give all the information, "we don't think he originally planned on bringing Sirius back.  The plan was to talk to Sirius but that wasn't possible.  We're not sure how he brought Sirius back since we haven't been able to talk to him yet."

There were small conversations when Hermione firmly asked, "He wasn't alone was he?  Someone helped him.  The person he met in the Leaky Cauldron."

Lupin, while amazed at Hermione's mind sighed at having to get into this.  "Yes.  Harry and a friend planned to go in together to see lost relatives…" he went on to tell them what he knew without revealing who his friend was.

"It was that Slytherin wasn't it?" Ginny said with hatred.  "She talked him into this, didn't she?"

"I can't say who went with him but Harry went into the veil by himself two times and came out with Sirius.  We'll find out more when Harry comes around," Lupin said.

The three were up in Ron's room sometime later still trying to digest what had happened.  "Oh Ron, this is terrible," Hermione finally exclaimed.

"Terrible?" Ron questioned.  "Hermione, Harry's going to be ok and Sirius is back.  What's terrible about that?"

"Don't you see Ron?" Hermione replied.  "He didn't need us.  And he didn't trust us enough to tell us what he was going to do," she said sounding very sad.  "At least one of us has been there for everything he's done.  We've always been there to help.  I should have known that us getting together would push him away."

"We'll be there next time Hermione," Ron said trying to comfort his girlfriend.

"Right," Ginny snorted causing them both to glare at her.  "Hermione threatened to tell on him every time he brought up the veil." 

"But…" Hermione tried to talk but Ginny continued, "And you Ron.  You accused him of purposely hiding in the castle knowing Dementors were going to attack Hogsmeade.  You know Harry feels guilty about everything that happens and you just rubbed that in.  Do you really think he'll just forget all that and let you back in on everything?  No way."

Ginny just shook her head and left, leaving Ron and Hermione to let her words sink in and realize the younger girl was probably right.

Harry woke to a familiar smell and groaned, "Not the hospital wing."

"Well I'm sorry my company is not on your list of favorites Mr. Potter," Madame Pomphrey said stepping next to him.  "I would appreciate a break from your business at least during the holidays." The woman waved her wand over Harry for a moment without saying anything.  "The Headmaster will want to know you've come around," she added turning to go to her office.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," Professor Dumbledore said much sooner than Harry had expected the man to arrive.

"How's Sirius?" Harry quickly asked, "Is he ok?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly and nodded his head.  "Sirius will be fine Harry.  He is recuperating at a secure location."  Harry visibly relaxed at this and a bright smile crossed his face.  "Now that is something I haven't seen in a while," Dumbledore teased.

"Kari!" Harry exclaimed suddenly remembering her, "It was my idea. She shouldn't be in any trouble.  I'll tell the Ministry it was my fault."

"Harry," Dumbledore said raising his hands, "Miss Boslav is safely at home and the Ministry need not know what happened."  After studying him for a moment, Dumbledore said, "Would you mind telling me exactly what happened from the time you stunned Mr. Weasley until you exited the veil?"

Harry grimaced at being reminded that he stunned Bill Weasley but began telling the story until Dumbledore interrupted him.  "And what was it you gave the guard at the Ministry?"

Harry hadn't told Dumbledore that it was him who drugged the guard.  "Sleeping Snacks sir," Harry sheepishly said.  "The twins didn't know what they were for.  They thought I would use them on Snape."

"Professor Snape Harry," Dumbledore said with a bright twinkle.  "Please continue."

Dumbledore let Harry finish telling most of the story without stopping him up until the part about Tom Riddle being in the Veil.  "Are you sure it was Tom?" Dumbledore questioned, suddenly very alert.

"I'm sure," Harry said with hate in his voice, "He was older than he was in the diary but it was the same person."  "How is he there and still here?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore now looked worried and sighed, "I have no idea….Please continue."

When Harry told of how his touch hurt Tom like it had Professor Quirrell, Dumbledore looked quite pleased.  "What?" Harry asked.  "What does that mean?"

"Well, that version of Tom is obviously before he used your blood to regain a body," Dumbledore said as he was thinking.  He studied Harry hard and then said, "Harry, this is something that only myself and Professor Snape know about and I want you to repeat it to no one."  Harry nodded.  "There was a large death eater attack planned for early Christmas morning.  Professor Snape was in his presence when suddenly Voldemort became very distressed and grabbed his throat.  Professor Snape said the skin seemed to be burning.  A Death Eater kidnapped a healer and the rest of his supporters were sent away."

"Do you think it was because of what happened in the veil?" Harry asked, now very excited since Voldemort was hurt.

"I believe it is too much of a coincidence to not be related," Dumbledore said.  "This is something I will have to think on…Please finish your story."

At the end of the story Harry said, "And then I got the necklace around us both just before being pulled back."   Harry turned and again felt bandages higher up than he expected.  "How did this happen?" he asked, pointing to his upper torso.  "The wood went lower."

"I've heard stories," Dumbledore said, "that other people have attempted to bring someone back from the veil but they died each time of the same thing that killed the person they tried to bring back.  My guess is that both of your injuries transferred to each other when you came through with Sirius but since Sirius wasn't completely dead, and you both had immediate care they could be healed."

Harry hadn't thought of that and felt very lucky to still be alive.  "Now about the fact you ran off to do this in the first place," Dumbledore said and Harry dreaded what punishment he would face.  "I am extremely disappointed you took such a risk with your life knowing how much we all depend on you.  I was not as young as you when I realized Grindewald would be my responsibility but I do understand how you feel.  You feel everything is planned out and you have no control." Dumbledore paused as Harry looked up with some understanding.  "You DO have the control," he continued, "you chose, in this case to risk your life and all that would mean to the wizarding world for the chance at speaking to Sirius again."  Hearing it like this made Harry think how selfish he had been.

"I would not have advised that route but know from personal experience that the uncertainty of not making the choice you did can weigh heavily on one," Dumbledore said looking down at the floor.  Harry wondered how many people have died that the old man thought he could have prevented and shuddered.  "Nevertheless, you did have a choice and you made it.  This time things worked out better than even you imagined.  That won't always be the case.  Please remember what your friends and many in the wizarding world will go through if you had not come back."

There was silence for a minute and then Harry asked, "Sir, will I be going back to the Burrow for the rest of the holidays?"  Harry dreaded seeing them after what he put them through.

Dumbledore's mouth twitched as he said, "After stunning Bill and the worry you caused Molly, only Professor Snape would suggest sending you back.  You will stay here… And out of trouble…Please do not send any owls…"  Dumbledore was just about to the door when he turned and said, "Do not mention what happened to anyone, except for myself, Nymphadora and Remus.  Not until I understand better what happened."  Harry nodded

Harry was up a day later and as he sat on the steps staring off towards the forest, he heard, "I should hex you for disturbing my Christmas Eve."

"Tonks," Harry exclaimed brightly.  "Have you seen him?  Does he look ok?"

"I've seen him," She said sitting next to him.  "He'll be fine.  Remus is there now telling him everything we know."

Harry smiled brightly feeling very content but Tonks continued, "I had a little talk with the Slytherin." 

"You what?" Harry snapped staring at her.

"Relax," she quickly added, "As much as I wanted to curse her for helping you get into that situation, I couldn't.  You two aren't going to make a habit of things like this are you?"  Tonks looked at him closely.

"No," Harry defiantly said, "but I'd do it all over again."

Tonks shook her head.  "That's what I'm afraid of."  After a second she added, "So you two find a favorite snogging spot?"

"We haven't… we're not….I mean…" Harry stumbled trying to figure out what he and Kari were now.  He had asked her to the Ball and she did kiss him but the moment was definitely weird.

Tonks smiled at his discomfort and said, "C'mon let's go inside and practice."

Harry's eyes got huge at this comment.  Tonks realized what he thought and laughed, saying, "Forgot where teenage boys minds are.  Let's go practice shields."  Harry let out the breath he was holding but immediately started to blush.  "But maybe this would be a good time to let you in on some secrets that'll light up her wand," she added pulling a thoroughly embarrassed Harry through the doors.

The novelty of having the school mostly to himself soon wore off and Harry was getting bored.  Every time he had asked Professor Dumbledore when he could see Sirius, the Headmaster had just said, "Soon".

Harry was just about to the point of sneaking to Hogsmeade and flooing to Grimmauld Place since that is where he thought Sirius was but Dumbledore's talk about choices did sink in a little and he knew that he should be more careful. 

One morning there was a note on his nightstand when woke up:

**Hagrid's Hut   9:00**

Harry brightened.  'It has to be Sirius', he thought. Finally, Harry sprinted down to the gamekeeper's hut.  When the door opened after he knocked, Harry was looking not at Sirius, but Professor Lupin.  "Hello Harry," Remus said not looking very happy.

"Hello Pro..Remus," Harry corrected confused at the man's expression.  "What are you doing here?"

"I was just stepping out for a minute," Remus said as he stepped around Harry.  "He's all yours Padfoot," he added once past Harry.

Harry turned and looked at his Godfather standing in the middle of the room.  "Sirius!" Harry exclaimed running to hug the man he had thought was dead.  "I'm so sorry," Harry said, the emotions flooding him.  "It's all my fault you were hurt."

Sirius hugged his Godson, trying to hold his own emotions in check.  "It wasn't your fault Harry.  I never blamed you."  It was silent for a moment until Sirius asked, "Are you fully healed?  No problems?"

Harry stepped back with a huge grin on his face and said, "Nah, I'm fine!"  Seeing the expression on his Godfather change he asked, "What's wrong?"

Sirius took a step back and then roared, "What the hell did you think you were doing?  Do you have any idea how stupid it was to come after me?  Do you?"  Harry; too shocked to say anything just stood there.  "Well I'll tell you how stupid it was.  What would have happened if you had died or got stuck in there with me?  You can't risk yourself like that."

"Yeah well you should have stayed at the house instead of playing around with Bellatrix and then I wouldn't have had to.  I'm almost and adult and I'll do what I want," Harry roared back ignoring how much bigger Sirius was than him.

Sirius' face twitched almost between rage and humor until he finally said, "Well just don't do it again.  You've got more important things to do."

"Fine, don't go dieing again," Harry coldly replied.

After a moment of silence, the two embraced again and Harry said, "I missed you so much."

"Me too Harry," Sirius said and then stood back and shook his head.  "I can't believe you weren't even a little scared of me.  I thought I did the 'Angry Godfather' thing pretty good."

Harry laughed and then said, "You don't have anything on Voldemort."

Sirius stiffened at this but Harry laughed and said, "Joke… Sirius, c'mon."

Lupin came back after a bit and the three sat around talking until late that evening.  When Harry was about to leave Sirius said, "I want to meet this Slytherin that stabbed you."

"Not if you're going to yell at her you're not," Harry firmly said.

"I think I've lost all control over the boy Moony," Sirius said.

"When have any of us had control over him?"  Lupin replied.

The next day Harry was sitting on the steps when Snuffles came walking by and then headed to Hagrid's hut.  "I guess you want me to follow you?" Harry asked.  "Who's supposed to be the dog here?"

Once inside Harry said, "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."

"Well, how would you like to come to an Order meeting tonight?" Sirius said with a gleam in his eyes.

"Really?  But does everyone know you're back yet?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Not yet," Sirius said mischievously.

Harry and Sirius portkeyed to Grimmauld Place early so they could be out of sight when the meeting started.  Harry noticed that the housed didn't seem quite so dark anymore.  Now the thought of staying there had suddenly become appealing.  "There're a lot of people here," Harry said noticing how many unfamiliar faces he saw.

"Well it IS my welcome home party," Sirius joked.

The two listened through the beginning of the meeting with Sirius becoming impatient and mouthing 'Blah…Blah…Blah"

"Now, onto some very interesting information," Dumbledore said, causing Harry and Sirius to pay attention.  "There were two incidents early Christmas morning that are worth noting."  Harry wished he could see the twinkle in Dumbledore's eye telling the story.

"First, we were unaware that Voldemort was about to carry out a large attack until suffering extreme personal discomfort causing him to cancel the attack," Dumbledore said causing mummers in the group.  "He had to kidnap a Healer and our sources say he is only now recovered.  The greatest benefit to us in addition to the cancelled attack was that many Death Eaters saw this happen and it should reinforce any seeds of doubt they have."

"Do you know what caused this?" a female witch Harry didn't know asked.

"I have my suspicions," Dumbledore said drawing a confused look from Professor Snape. "Now, before I tell you the truly outstanding information, I would like to invite one other person to join the meeting.  Harry, could you come out here," Dumbledore said surprising Harry.  Sirius pushed him in the back to get him going.

"What is HE doing here?" Snape spat as Harry appeared around the corner.

"Albus, you know how I feel about this," Molly Weasley said and then turned to Harry and softly said, "I'm so glad you're alright dear.  We were so worried about you."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley.  I hate that I made you worry about me," Harry said feeling very guilty about what he had put her through.

"I understand dear," she said wiping a tear.  "I didn't think anyone other than the twins could make me worry so much."

The twins looked at each other and then to their mother.  They had only been told that Harry needed to return to the castle but knew something else was being kept from them.  "Know what this means," Fred started.

"We'll have to try harder," George added as he smiled at his mother.

"Now onto the other thing that happened early that morning," Dumbledore added causing Snape to look even more confused. "It seems that since the Battle at the Ministry, Harry has understandably been doing a lot of thinking about the Afterworld Veil."  There were pained expressions on every face as they looked at Harry except for the glare from his Potions Professor.  "Early in the morning, Harry made his way to the Ministry of Magic and into the Chamber of Death."

"He what?" Snape spat out.

"Severus," Dumbledore cautioned but Harry could tell Snape was furious. 

Harry also noted that many of the other members looked like they were angry at him as well.  'Worried about their tool,' Harry bitterly thought.

"Harry decided he wanted to try and speak with his Godfather," Dumbledore continued and Harry could tell the old man loved stringing the rest along with his story, "so he stepped through the veil to attempt just that."

"That's impossible!  He's still alive," a petite witch exclaimed over the other talking.

"I assure you he did enter the veil," Dumbledore calmly said.

"How can you be sure?" Snape said standing up and stepping toward Harry.  "He's made up stories before.  He's just an attention seeking child who needs to be in the limelight.  I for one do not believe his made up story.  How can the rest of you be sure?" Snape spat causing mumbling between the other members but Professor Dumbledore smiled slightly.

Just then there was a gasp from one side of the table and a voice announced, "They can be sure because I'm back!" Sirius said stepping up and landing a wicked punch to Snape's face, causing the man to tumble back over a chair and land with a solid 'thud' on the hard surface.  "If you ever talk about Harry that way again, there will be something to send me to Azkaban for!"

It was chaos for the next several minutes with most people not believing this was the real Sirius Black and the others not exactly sure how to act.  It took the assurances of Remus and Tonks before many of the attendees believed the story.  Professor Snape sat on the floor just staring up at the man.  Harry almost, but not quite felt sorry for his Professor.

When Professor Snape finally got up, he and Professor Dumbledore moved into the next room and Harry wished he had some Extendable Ears to pick up what they were saying.  A grand laugh from Sirius brought his attention back to his Godfather.  Sirius was talking to a group of people and smiling brightly.  "You've given me a present I'll never be able to repay," Lupin said appearing next to Harry.

"He looks pretty happy," Harry replied with his own smile, realizing he had rarely seen Sirius look truly happy before.  The two continued to laugh at Sirius' antics.

Professor Moody clunked over a few minutes later and said, "Do you have a lick of common sense in that head of yours?"  Harry couldn't tell if the man was joking or not.  "What were you thinking?"  Harry was just about ready to go off on the man but he continued, "If I label something 'Very Risk', it means 'Very Risky'.  If that would have failed, you're arm could have been blown clean off."  Moody shook his head and mumbled, "Bloody foolish if you ask me."  Harry just stood their stunned that Moody had been talking about his duel with Professor Snape.  "Keep reading boy," Moody added before heading back to the group of people around Sirius.

"Listen Harry," Remus said after watching Moody leave, "I'm very happy that he's back but you do realize what you risked by going after him don't you?"

Harry sighed, "I know Remus.  I was pretty sure I'd come back the first time and then just couldn't stand to think of him suffering for eternity.  It was stupid, I should have thought of everybody else, I know."

"That may be," the calm voice of Professor Dumbledore said.  Neither Harry nor Remus had noticed the man next to them.  "But Sirius is back with us and we have some vital information that we didn't have before."  The man eyed Harry over his spectacles and said, "May I speak with you for a moment Harry?"


	14. Holiday's OverThe Truth Comes Out

---- Author Notes ----

To those who are bummed/irritated/upset/furious that Sirius is back… I fully understand.  That is something that I don't see happening in canon but he's my 2nd most favorite character and I just think future options are really expanded with him around. 

--- End Author Notes

The two went into the next room and Harry watched as Dumbledore said a couple charms.  "I can't risk this being overheard by anyone," he explained.  "Professor Snape was demanding to know if there is any relationship between you in the Veil and Voldemort's distress.  I assured him that I didn't know."

Harry couldn't believe the Headmaster directly lied to Professor Snape.  It must have shown because he said, "I don't know for sure Harry, I just strongly believe it does. I trust Professor Snape.  However his …feelings for you sometime cloud his judgment.  For now we will keep this between the two of us."  Harry nodded.

"I think meeting Tom in the veil directly relates to the prophecy," the old man said making Harry pay close attention.  "'Neither shall live while the other lives.'  That was a line from the prophecy.  I believe that Tom's original attempts at immortality were somewhat successful and when the killing curse backfired on him, a portion of him died.  But since not all of him did, part is trapped where you found Sirius."

Dumbledore was silent while Harry thought about this.  "Does that mean that some of me is in there as well?  I mean I didn't die either."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "I believe so Harry.  That could be why you hear the voices and why so many of the Hogwarts' Ghosts and Portraits have an affinity for you.  If you had called for yourself, you may have found the one year old Harry Potter."  Harry's eyes got huge.  "You also have to realize that what you've had so far couldn't count as truly living now could you?  And, Voldemort has been thwarted at ever major turn so he isn't succeeding either."

"So if I go back in the veil, maybe I could get him there!" Harry said excitedly.

"You will NOT go back into the veil," Dumbledore firmly said.  "I don't believe destroying that version of Voldemort will fulfill the prophecy."  He saw Harry's dejected look at added, "However it does give me an idea on how to get help when you need it."  Dumbledore smiled at Harry's look and added, "Please let me keep this to myself until I am sure.  I trust you not to reveal anything but I don't want to get your hopes up before the time is right."

"Sirius really seems happy," Harry said after deciding not to get angry with the Headmaster.

"Indeed," Dumbledore added.  "He has been given a new lease on life.  The Ministry has cleared his name, although I would like him to stay out of the public for some time.  It does give us an advantage.  Why don't you go enjoy a little more time with him before you return to school."

Harry took the Headmaster's advice and spent the rest of his time away from Hogwarts next to his Godfather.  The feeling of having a family returned to Harry and he once again felt that he actually belonged somewhere.  It was like all the darkness from the past year had been lifted.  Even leaving Sirius and returning to Hogwarts didn't bother him.  Harry felt like he could produce the world's biggest Patronus with how happy he was.

Harry begged Professor Dumbledore for permission to send Kari an owl but the Headmaster always refused and said that she knew he was doing fine and he would see her when the students returned.  Harry felt guilty about asking her to the ball under such a stressful situation.  The remaining few days passed quickly enough, but Harry felt apprehensive about seeing his friends at the station and seeing Kari again without being able to owl her since Christmas.

Pacing at the train station, Harry was waiting on the arrival of students returning from Holiday.  Finally, the train groaned to a stop and students began filing off.  Harry exchanged pleasantries with those he knew but kept scanning the crowd for his friends and especially for Kari.  It was Ron's head above the others that got his attention and then he recognized Hermione and Ginny along side as they made their way to where he was standing.

It was Hermione that noticed him waiting and ran to him but awkwardly stopped before hugging him as she normally did.  "Oh Harry," she said, "I'm so sorry…There was nothing in any book that even suggested…."

"It doesn't matter Hermione," Harry cut her off and smiled brightly.  "Everything's fine now."

Ginny didn't hesitate and ran up to give him a hug, "I can't believe you brought him back!" she exclaimed.  When he released her from the hug she hit his arm and said, "Of course it was a stupid thing to do!"

Harry silently let out the breath he was holding.  He had fully expected Ginny to rail at him about sneaking out.  Harry didn't notice the way Hermione was closely watching the younger girl.  "Yeah well no one's ever accused me of being bright," he joked.  "I missed you all."

"You missed a good Christmas mate," Ron said standing back a few steps.

Harry hadn't totally forgotten all the things Ron said before the holidays but said, "It was pretty quiet here.  I wish you guys could have been here."  Ron breathed a sigh of relief that Harry seemed to treat him normally.

Hermione watched the two boys and before she started crying, hugged Harry and said, "I'm so glad you're ok.  I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come back."

Harry was shocked by the outburst but saw Ron smiling and shaking his head so he hugged Hermione back and said, "I was supposed to be back before anyone noticed I was gone.  Bloody Order guarding us."

Hermione let him go and saw a genuinely happy expression on her best friend, one she hadn't seen in a long time. Ginny jumped in and said, "You may need to keep an eye on Bill the next time you see him.  He's pretty chaffed about you stunning him."  She could see the pain in Harry's face at this so she added, "He'll get over it."

"I can't wait to hear all about it," Hermione said quickly switching to 'research' mode.

"You will tell us won't you?" Ginny questioned hoping Harry wouldn't keep it all to himself.

He smiled at the girl and said, "Since you kept your promise to not get mad at me, I'll tell."

Ron and Hermione glared at the youngest Weasley, thinking she knew all about Harry's plan.  Ginny caught this and said, "Hey I didn't know anything.  I just thought he expected to get into another row with Ron!  There's no way I would have let him get out of the house if I had a clue what he was planning."

Hermione believed the girl but Ron seem unconvinced.  Harry however eyed her with a very curious look but still said, "I didn't tell her anything.  No one knew."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ron went on to tell Harry how Christmas day was at the Burrow and it almost seemed like the past months of strained relationships had been forgotten.  Harry could tell that Hermione was just holding back all the questions she wanted ask and he was just about to tell her that he would answer everything when an annoying voice said, "Why weren't you on the train Potter?"

The four turned to see Malfoy and his two slugs walking toward them.  Harry just shook his head, not letting the Slytherin bother him.  "Think you're too good to ride with normal students now?"  Malfoy questioned.

"You know Malfoy," Harry said still smiling, "If you ever see a Grim you should be very, very afraid."

Ron, Ginny and Hermione started laughing while Malfoy looked on confused. Just then Harry heard his name called.  Turning, he saw Kari push Malfoy out of the way and run directly at him.  Harry took a couple quick steps and without thinking, the two immediately embraced in a tight hug. Ron, Hermione and Ginny's eyes were shocked to see Harry and the girl hugging.

"I'm so glad you're ok," she exclaimed clutching him tightly.

Without loosening the hug Harry said, "I'll never be able to thank you for what you did.  You're amazing!"  Just then the two pulled back a little.  Kari gave him an appraising look and pulled Harry into a very firm kiss.  It felt like the most natural thing to do and Harry held her even tighter.

Now Harry's friends were just staring with their mouths hanging open.  In fact any student who knew Harry at all was looking at him like he was crazy.  This was something Harry Potter just didn't do.  That fact did not go unnoticed by Cho Chang who happened to be passing by with her friend Marietta.

"Wow," they said together after ending the kiss.  Harry blinked a few times and then said, "I guess you'll still willing to go to the ball with me."

"I always keep my end of a deal," she said back and then lightly kissed his lips.  Harry then realized how many people were watching and blushed furiously.  "Who cares what anyone thinks," Kari said as she took his hand and led him back through the crowd.

"He just left us!" Ron exclaimed.

"When did THAT happen?" Hermione asked still staring wide-eyed at the retreating figure of her best friend.

"Studying potions my bum!" Ginny snapped and quickly got in the next carriage.

Kari threatened the two first years in a carriage so she and Harry could have one to themselves.  "They wouldn't let me owl you or anything," she said still squeezing his arm tightly.  "That Tonks woman came and told me that you were going to be fine."  Kari hesitated and hugged Harry tightly.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let me send you anything either," Harry said and then fished around in his pocket and said, "Here, this is yours."  He dropped the life-stone into her open hand.  "I know this probably means a lot to you."

She stared at the necklace wide-eyed.  "This is what brought you back," she softly said and then put the necklace back around her neck and transformed it back into a non-descript looking stone.  "I told my parents about you."  She saw the look of shock on his face and added, "Not about what we did, just that I'm going to the ball with you."

Harry relaxed a bit and said, "How'd they take it? They were both Slytherins weren't they?"  She nodded and Harry said, "This could really put them at risk."

"They understand and contacted Professor Dumbledore.  They decided they couldn't stay neutral this time around," she said proudly.  "They want to meet you sometime."

At this moment, that thought worried Harry more than Voldemort did.  He was silent for a while and then Kari said, "You're going to have to tell me everything that happened in there."

"I will, I promise," Harry quickly replied.

"And," she said hesitantly, "I have some questions that you need to answer for me."  Harry looked worried and she said, "But not today."

Kari and Harry were two of the last students to arrive for the feast that night and Harry didn't want to let go of her hand when they entered.  He stood and watched her go to the Slytherin table wondering how they would treat her.  Surprisingly a few of the other girls smiled and started asking her questions but Malfoy just sneered and then gave her an evil smirk.

Harry contained his anger, knowing Kari could handle herself and made his way to the Gryffindor table ignoring the looks he was getting.  Clapping started as soon as he was close.  "Nice show Harry!" Dean exclaimed.

"Looks like you had a good holiday," Seamus joked.

The Gryffindor girls however just scowled at him as he made his way to an open seat next to Neville, just across from Ron and Hermione.  "If you've just been studying potions; that seems kind of sudden," Ron said and it immediately grated on Harry but when he saw Kari talking to her friends and smiling over at her table, all the anger quickly melted.

"I guess having her nearly kill me adjusted my priorities," Harry joked as he spooned food onto his plate.

Hermione had expected Harry to explode at Ron's insensitive comment but she couldn't tell if he was joking or not with his comment.  She wanted nothing more than to hear the whole story from Harry.  As soon as Harry set his fork down Hermione quickly said, "Ok, you two have eaten.  I want to hear what happened."

"But Hermione," Ron complained, "I'm not finished yet."

"You've had enough Ron," she replied.  "C'mon Harry."

Before they had taken a few steps, Harry noticed Ginny wasn't with them and he finally saw her at the far end of the table with some other girls in her class.  He caught her eye but couldn't make out her expression.  With his head he nodded and then mouthed 'Come on'.  She gave him a piercing look but her curiosity at what had happened won over her annoyance with him for leaving them standing and she followed the trio back to the Common Room.

Most of the students were still out so the four easily made it to their normal chairs in the far corner of the room.  "Ok, where do you want me to start?"

"How about after you stunned my big brother?" Ginny snapped

Harry knew he deserved that tone and was about to agree when Ron said, "I want to know when you started kissing that Slytherin."

"Ron!" Hermione snapped.

"It's ok Hermione," Harry said.  "I'm in too good of a mood tonight for that to bother me.  I wouldn't count on it not bothering me again though," he added with a glare at his friend who did look a bit guilty.  "Well….honestly we had only been studying potions and working on this plan when we were together.  Nothing about seeing each other ever came up.  It never even crossed my mind."  Ginny gave him a disbelieving look so he added, "I promise!  Well, she was just about to stab me ….."

"What?" the three exclaimed.

"Professor Lupin said you stabbed yourself," Ginny said.

"I don't know what Remus told you but I'll tell you the truth.  It will make sense when I tell you the whole story but you asked about this part first," Harry said almost with a chuckle at how weird this must sound.  "She was just about to stab me with this big piece of wood," he saw their grimacing faces and added, "She did cast a numbing charm on me."  Ron rolled his head.  "It just came to me that I 'd been afraid to ask anyone to the ball and what with I was about to do,  figured I didn't have anything to lose so I asked her to the ball and she kissed me," Harry said thinking, "It just happened."

"Fine, now tell us the whole story," Ginny said still looking annoyed.

After finally getting through the whole story, leaving out the part about seeing Voldemort, even Ginny had gotten back to talking to him in an almost normal tone.  "I can't believe you saw your dad," she said softly.

"I should have called my mom earlier.  I only got a glimpse but she was beautiful," Harry sighed. "She had long red hair and really fair skin," he added with a far away look.  Then he glanced at Ginny as if seeing her in a different light.

"But how did you even think you could bring Sirius back?" Hermione questioned looking totally lost.

"I didn't really think about it.  Magic didn't work there and I just couldn't kill him with my hands," Harry said very softly.  "When I knew the stone was about to pull me out I just grabbed him."

"And where did you get the life-stone?  They are really rare and tightly controlled.  And how did you know it would work?" Hermione asked studying him intently.

"That's not my secret to tell," Harry said with an apologetic look.

"And Sirius is really fine?" Ginny who had been silent since the story ended asked.

"The twins said it was the best thing they've ever seen when he slugged Snape," Ron laughed.

"It was brilliant," Harry agreed.

Harry couldn't remember being in a better mood over the next couple days. He and Kari still studied Potions and practiced Defense but they also found time to just walk around the lake and talk.  Harry entered his first Potions class since the Holiday without any worries.  Snape didn't say a word to him throughout the class but once it was over the man said, "Potter stay after."

His friends gave him a sympathetic look while Harry started wondering what this was about.  Once the other students left, Snape shut the door, rounded on Harry and said, "The Dark Lord found out how much you have learned from the duel within hours.  This was worse than letting him into your mind.  Your arrogance and ego has just told him how much you have learned."

Harry gritted his teeth and calmly said, "I'm sure that was your intention…sir.  But he didn't find out how much I've learned."

"Blame everything on someone else Potter.  That seems to be your style.  And I know first hand that he does indeed know how much you've learned."

"I didn't show everything I've learned…sir," Harry said with a smirk.  "And why else would you have challenged me if it wasn't to let him see?  You had to know I wouldn't just fall down."

"Yes, you're ego is so easy to use," the man said.  Harry could tell his attitude was slightly different than normal.  After a moment of silence he said, "I want to know exactly what happened in the Veil."

"Sir?" Harry asked, not expecting that question.

"The Veil Potter!  What happened?" Snape asked glaring at Harry.

"Just what I told Professor Dumbledore," Harry said not understanding why Snape was asking about this.

"I want to hear it from your own mouth Potter," the Professor replied.  "You're not telling the whole story."

"I've told everything," Harry snapped.

"Listen boy!" Snap exclaimed taking a step forwards.  Harry instinctively dropped his hand to where his wand was stored.  Snape caught this and smirked, "Are you going to attack me Potter?" When Harry just glared he continued, "Do it.  I'll finally have you out of here."

Harry fought with everything he had to keep control of his emotions and his voice cracked as he said, "I can't say anything about the Veil….Sir."

"You may have everyone fooled Potter.  They think you're the great savior of our world but I don't believe in fairy tales.  You'll be no use in the struggle and until everyone else sees this you'll continue to get people killed for no reason."

"Then convince them!" Harry exclaimed.  "Maybe they'll leave me alone."  After a moment Harry added, "But I still can't say anything about the Veil."

"So like your father," Snape scowled turning back to his desk.  "You think you're unbeatable.  You'll end up just like him."

Having seen his father and come to grips with the failings Harry had learned of him, he replied, "I don't have a problem with that anymore.  You're the only one who has anything bad to say about him."

"I won't put my future in your hands Potter," Snape spat.  "Get out of my sight."

Harry quickly left the dungeon trying to figure out why Snape was pushing to find out what happened.  Professor Snape was someone Harry always hated the man and never fully thought he was working against Dumbledore but lately Harry didn't know anymore.  'Could a schoolboy feud cause him to switch sides?' Harry wondered in his mind as he wondered the corridors.

That night Harry told Hermione and Ron about his confrontation with Professor Snape.  "He is out teacher Harry," Hermione pointed out.  "Why didn't you just tell him?  It's not like he doesn't know already."

"Snape doesn't tell me anything.  Why should I do what he wants?" Harry snapped.

"He's on our side Harry," Hermione said but Ron didn't look too sure.

"I wouldn't bet a galleon on it," Ron said drawing a surprised look from Hermione.  "I know you think Dumbledore trusts him and that makes him on our side," Ron said and surprisingly Hermione seemed to be listening.  "But does it though?  Maybe Snape's playing both sides to see who's winning."

"That's what I've been wondering," Harry said causing Ron to beam.

"Yeah," Ron added bolstered by Harry's agreement, "that'd be like the slimy git.  He's probably been feeding V…You-Know-Who information ever since he came back."

"Ok listen," Hermione finally said.  "I'll admit he's not the nicest to us and act's like his biggest wish is for Harry to ..well you know." She added with a sympathetic look at Harry.  "But he is a member of the Order…."

She was cut off by Harry saying , "And one of Voldemort's Death Eaters.  Remember, he has to run whenever he's called."

"He's in the inner circle on both sides," Ron added.  "How do you know which one is real?"

"Dumbledore's not perfect Hermione," Harry firmly said.

"Ok Harry," Hermione said, "I know you have issues with Professor Dumbledore but I trust his judgment.  However, maybe it is better to be careful around Professor Snape."

"Works for me," Ron said smiling at his girlfriend.

"I'll go with that but I don't trust him," Harry said.  The three sat around talking about their classes and Harry went to be feeling extremely happy that he was on good terms with his friends again.

The next morning the Daily Prophet had a headline that everyone except the Slytherins thought was good news:

**Fudge Out – Bones In**

**Cornelius Fudge was formally removed from office after a vote of no-confidence.  The nearly unanimous vote reflects the community's opinion of the man who labeled Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore liars, and hid the fact that You-Know-Who had returned.  **

**Almost immediately, Madame Amelia Bones was elected as the new Minister of Magic by an overwhelming majority.  Madame Bones had the public support of Albus Dumbledore.  It has also been rumored that Harry Potter supported Madame Bones, even though she was on the panel that tried him for Underage Use of Magic when Harry defended himself and saved his Muggle cousin from the Dementors that Undersecretary Umbridge sent to destroy him.**

**Minister Bones expressed her desire to work with any within the Wizarding Community and even with other races to present a united front against You-Know-Who.  Already we at the Prophet are optimistic with the new direction of our leaders.**

**All of Fudge's appointees have been removed from office, replaced by Madame Bones' picks.**

"It's about time!" Harry exclaimed.

"She did treat you fairly," Hermione added watching Harry beam but noticed Ron's odd expression.  "What's wrong Ron?"

"I know he's been a royal git and all.  Especially to you," Ron said nodding at Harry.  "But I wonder what Percy's going to do.  The Ministry was his whole life."

Harry held every comment he wanted to make in check, not wanting to spoil the goodwill that was back between him and Ron.

"He'll be ok," Ginny said.  "Dad will find him something.  His biggest worry will be what the twins do to him."

Things for Harry were on a roll for the next few days.  The chasers were picking up the new plays easier than he expected which made the entire Quidditch team optimistic.  There was even a change in Potions.  Professor Snape didn't even acknowledge Harry's presence in the room, never said one word to him and didn't look up when Harry handed in his potions.  Harry wished his past five years had been like this.

Kari and Harry had continued studying Potions with the only difference being how close they sat near each other.  He had told her every detail of what happened in the Veil except for meeting Voldemort.  He tried to describe exactly how Skylar had looked and acted and could tell she now regretted not going in as well.

That night Harry went to sleep without any negative feelings at all.  However, his lack of thoughts about Voldemort contributed to him not doing his Occlumency exercises and he was soon dreaming through Voldemort's eyes.

"The time is right my friends," Voldemort said to a gathering of Dementors.  "This area is yours for the next hour.  Feast....Soon you will have no limits on your desires." 

The creatures screamed and glided to the quiet neighborhood causing it to turn dark.  There was horrible screams from inside the houses, causing Harry to start tossing and turning.  His view changed from being in Voldemort's eyes as the evil wizard seemed to look directly into his eyes and in a laughing voice said, "Good of you to finally join me Harry.  Enjoy the show.  This is just the beginning.  Soon the rest will join me and I will personally see to your death."  Voldemort gave an evil cackle and Harry snapped awake dripping in sweat. 

Pulling out the journal, Harry wrote down every detail he could think of and then softly closed the cover.  'I had almost forgotten about him,' he thought.  'I can't forget.  The longer he's around the more people will die.'  Harry's thoughts turned to his girlfriend and how much she was risking by being close to him.

It was reported that morning that almost 50 Muggles had been kissed by the Dementors.  Ministry Aurors had arrived within half an hour driving the creatures off before any more innocent people could be attacked.

Walking almost in a daze by the lake after supper, Kari's irritated voice got his attention, "You just blowing me off?"

"What?" Harry asked and then realized what he had done.  "Of course not.  I'm sorry," he added taking her hand.  "It's just those attacks.  I was thinking."

"I know the attacks are bad but why are you taking it like this?" she asked, her agitation receding.

Harry studied her for a second and said, "Let's sit down, I should explain."  For the next thirty minutes he went through how he sometimes saw through Voldemort's eyes and felt the evil Wizard's emotions.

Kari sat in silence listening to him and when he was finally done she said, "You know that would bite.  I guess you get a pass for keeping me waiting."  Her attitude was not at all what Harry had expected.  He half expected her to think he was crazy.  She didn't seem to think poorly of him or take pity on him.  "Just don't let it happen again," she added with a fake evil glare.

"I'll do my best," Harry replied now smiling.

The two sat in silence until Kari asked, "I told you after the holiday that you needed to answer some questions for me.  Think you can do it?"

'This is it,' Harry thought.  If she asked certain questions and he answered truthfully, she would bolt, he just knew it.  "I owe you big time so I'll answer whatever you want."

"Ok then," she said looking intently.  "What's this about you being the one to kill You-Know-Who?" she asked firmly.

Harry's eyes just got huge at the direct question.  As much as his normal instincts told him to make something up, he wanted desperately to tell her so he said, "It's true.  It all starts with this," he said lifting up his bangs to show his scar.  Kari listened quietly as Harry told her about the prophecy and that he's supposed to have the power to destroy Voldemort.  All the while he was telling the story; Harry felt this would probably be the last conversation he had with the girl.

Once he was done, Kari was very silent, just staring out over the lake.  Harry took this as a sign that his concerns were coming true so he wasn't surprised when she said, "Well I suppose you know what this means."

With the feeling of loneliness sweeping back in Harry didn't look at her when he said, "Yeah."

After another moment of silence she said, "I guess now's as good a time as any."

"Whatever you say," Harry said sounding dejected.  "You know I'm still glad you hung out with me for a while.  It was nice to get to know you."

"What are you talking about Potter?" Kari asked.

"You're breaking up with me," Harry said.  "I figured you would as soon as you found out.  It wasn't a surprise."

Harry could tell right away that was the wrong thing to say.  The girl's features hardened considerably.  "If there was any reason to break up it would be that you thought so little of me that I would bail just because of what you told me," she snapped.  "I meant that now's a good time to get back to practicing defense."

"What?" Harry exclaimed.  "After what I just told you?  How can you stay around me?"

"I'm a Slytherin Potter.  If we pick sides, we always try to pick the winning one.  My bet is that you and Professor Dumbledore will wind up standing at the end," she confidently said as Harry just stared at her.  "Besides," she continued, "you're not half bad to hang around."

"You're something Boslav," Harry said not quite believing how she had taken the news.  "And you're really ok with this?"

"This is a war," she firmly said.  "It's going to be bad either way but I'm not willing to walk away from this just because you're going to play a big part."  After a pause she added, "It's not like it's a big surprise anyway.  Everybody with half a brain knows something's up with you and him.  At least this is better than the rumor that you're his son."

"That I'm what?"  Harry exclaimed.

"Your friends must shield you from all of that," she said now smiling again.  "Let's see," she started counting on her fingers, "You're You-Know-Who's kid… You're Dumbledore's great-grandson or something…. I actually could have bought that one…You-Know-Who is after you because he thinks you're going to be the next Dark Lord."

"You're kidding!" Harry said not believing people were saying these things.

"Not at all," she said taking his hand and leading him back to the castle.  "By the way, how did the rest of the Dream Team react when you told them?"

"They don't know," Harry said and was surprised when his arm was jerked back.

Kari had stopped and was just staring at him.  "They don't know?"  Harry shook his head.  "Have you told anyone?" she asked looking totally amazed.

"Just you," Harry said shrugging his shoulders.

"Wow," she said studying him.  "You didn't think they'd bail on you did you?"  The look on Harry's face told her that he did think that. 

"Either that or they'd put themselves in more danger because if it," he threw in.

"You've got some real issues, you know that," she said as the two fell into step.  "Nothing we can't deal with though," she added squeezing his hand.

The morning of the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match had the whole school anxious.

These matches had shown some of the fiercest action over the years.  The new Gryffindor members were very nervous at breakfast and even Ron and Ginny seemed anxious.  "C'mon guys they're nothing.  You've got those plays down pat," Harry said still riding his high from the holidays.

"They're so much bigger," Sally said looking pale.

"But you're faster and smarter," Hermione said to the girl.

Harry noticed Kari get up to leave, giving him a look.  "I'm going to go for a walk guys," he announced standing up.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ron snapped.  "You know what she did last time."

"Yeah, she told me we could talk to Snuffles last time," Harry threw back, forgetting he hadn't told them that's what had happened.  "I don't think something like that's going to come up again.  I'll be on time."

She was waiting for him just outside and the two quickly fell into step heading toward the lake.  "So who are you rooting for?" Harry asked.

"I'm Slytherin through-n-through, Potter," she quickly said.  "But you do have certain qualities….  How about Slytherin to win but you to get the snitch."

"I'd rather Gryffindor win and let Malfoy have the snitch," Harry quickly said.

"Gryffindors," she said shaking her head.  "I'll never understand you lot?  I'm sticking to my pick."

The two had just reached the spot they had claimed as there own when they both heard a rustle in the bushes and something large came charging out.  "Harry!"  Kari exclaimed as a large black beast jumped, knocking Harry to the ground.  Quickly pulling her wand, she said a spell that caught the creature on the hindquarters, causing it to yelp as a large tuft of fur sailed into the air.

She was just about to send another curse when Harry jumped up, put up a shield and said, "Don't!"

The great black dog sat, licking the minor wound as Harry quickly walked to it.  "What are you doing?" Kari asked.

"You deserved that you know," Harry said when he got to the dog. 

Suddenly, the dog morphed into a person Kari had only seen on wanted posters before.  She was too stunned to say anything but Sirius continued to rub his backside and spoke up.  "Ok stabbing my Godson was bad enough but shooting me in the arse is way over the line."  His robes had a slight tear but the mark wasn't too bad.

"You're an animagus!  That's why you weren't caught," Kari said stepping closer to Harry.

"An illegal animagus," Harry proudly added with a smile.  "Kari Boslav meet Sirius Black."

Kari slowly extended her hand as did Sirius.  The two seemed to be eyeing each other very closely.  "I don't know if I should thank you or curse you for stabbing him," Sirius said in a cold voice.

"You're safer thanking me.  Harry's taught me quite a few tricks already," she replied in an equally cold voice.

Sirius stepped back shaking his head.  "Isn't anyone afraid of me anymore?  I can't believe I've lost it."  Harry started laughing as Sirius turned back to Kari and said, "I really owe you."

"Seeing how much happier Harry is now is good enough for me," she said taking Harry's hand.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked clearly happy having the two people that made him the happiest around.

"The match!  I want to see you wipe the pitch with those slimy, worthless pieces of…"

Harry coughed and Sirius saw how Kari was looking at him so he threw in, "present company excluded of course."

"You really need to send him to training," Kari said to Harry causing Sirius to give her a strange look.

"It's ok if you're seen now?" Harry asked ignoring their comments.

"I could if I wanted but it'll be less of a distraction if I stay as Snuffles," he replied.

Seeing the confusion on her face Harry said, "Snuffles…you know the dog…" Kari chuckled.

"You don't think it fits?" Sirius quickly asked giving a hurt look.

"So where are you going to be?" Harry questioned shaking his head.

"Just around.  I'll try to find a decent spot."

"Can you climb the stands?" Kari asked.

Sirius gave her a condescending look and said, "I'm not some little yipper.  Of course I can climb."

"Well come sit with me," she offered and drew amazed looks from the two men. "What?  If we're going to hang around together Potter, I might as well get used to the mutt," she said with a slight smile.

Harry wondered how Sirius would take this but the man said, "You know what Harry?  I don't think she's half-bad…for a Slytherin."  It lifted Harry to hear his Godfather say that.

"You should get going," Kari said.  "I don't want the Weasel King to blame something else on me."

"Try to behave yourself Sirius.  I'll see you both after the match," Harry said.

"Only for a minute," Kari replied, "I'll have to get to our victory celebration."

The team was standing outside the pitch getting ready for the start when Hermione came down and pulled Harry, Ron and Ginny to the side.  "Harry," she said breathing hard from running, "Is that Snuffles over there?"  She pointed to the front row of the Slytherin side and Harry saw the big black dog sitting happily with its paws on the railing next to Kari.

He laughed but Ron said.  "He's setting on their side!"  
  
"She knows about Snuffles?" Ginny angrily asked.

"Listen," Harry said watching to make sure the rest of the team weren't listening, "they just met.  He was going to just prowl around and watch but she offered.  He'll root for us.  As much as he can as a dog."

"Ok team," Harry said getting them focused.  He saw Hermione kiss Ron on the cheek and slip off.  "They play dirty but we're better.  Ron, you've seen them before so just don't let them get to you.  Beaters…You need to hit them hard because that's what they're trying to do to us.  Chasers…You've got those plays down.  They won't know what hit them.  And I'll keep my mind on the game."

They all put their hands in a circle and said, "Go Gryffindor!"

The first half hour of the match had been as one-sided as anyone could remember.  Gryffindor was up 200-20.  The Gryffindor chasers had only failed on two scoring runs, keeping the other team totally confused by their moves.  Slytherin had only gotten five shots on goal and Ron stopped three of them.

Slytherin had gotten so flustered by the Gryffindor plays that they couldn't even pull any dirty tricks.  This had made Malfoy furious and as he was yelling at the team to get dirtier, the snitch appeared just behind the tail of his broom.  Harry instantly saw it and in a streak, flew straight at the blonde.  Draco must have seen the wide-eyed expressions on his teammates and turned just as Harry grabbed the snitch and continued as a black-blur off to the side.

Glancing at the Slytherin tower, Harry thought Snuffles was going to jump over the railing.  He also saw Kari shake her head at the dog but give a smile to Harry as he flew by.

After a quick shower, Harry walked to where Kari and Snuffles were standing but just before he got there he heard, "Mark my words Potter.  That's the last bit of good luck you're going to have."

Before Harry could reply, Snuffles had jumped from behind Kari and started growling at the Slytherin boy.  Draco's eyes were huge as he started backing up.  Tripping over his own feet, he fell flat on his back and whimpered as the huge dog barred its teeth and growled.

"Remember my 'pet' Malfoy?"  Harry asked, clearly enjoying this.  "You know the one you said I lost last year."

Malfoy didn't take his eyes off the dog but stammered, "Th..Th..That's impossible."

"Then maybe this is really a Grim," Harry said.  "C'mon Snuffles he's not worth it."

With a loud bark, Snuffles turned and walked away with Harry back to where Kari was standing.  When the three were hidden from easy view Sirius changed and said, "At least someone still cowers in fear."

"Maybe it was just your breath," Kari calmly said raising an eyebrow.

"You're going to fit in just fine," Sirius joked back.  "Kari would you mind if I spoke to Harry for a few minutes?"

"No problem," she quickly replied, "I need to try and put the loss out of my mind anyway.  Later Potter."

"Bye," Harry said watching her walk away.

"Earth to Harry," Sirius joked noticing the way his Godson just watched the girl leave.

"Shut up Sirius," Harry replied blushing a bit.

"I wanted to talk to you about something else," Sirius said and Harry could tell he wasn't playing around.  "If you want, I could be around Hogsmeade more often so I'd be there if you need me."

At first this sounded great to Harry but he caught a flash of something in Sirius' tone that made him realize his Godfather may not be happy with that arrangement.  "Don't you like Headquarters anymore?"

"Ah, the house is fine.  Actually Moony and I have made great progress turning it into someplace I actually want to be.  I just thought that after all you went through, I should be around here."

"Listen Sirius," Harry said, "I'd love to see you more often but then you'd just feel trapped in Hogsmeade instead of at Headquarters."  Harry stopped his Godfather's reply and added, "I didn't go through all that for you to be unhappy.  I want you to go do what makes you happy.  We'll owl each other and I'll see you a bunch this summer.  If you don't do anything stupid we'll have plenty of time."

Harry could tell Sirius was torn between what he really wanted to do and what he thought was best for Harry.  "If you're sure," he said watching Harry closely.

"I'm sure."

"Well then Remus is going on a mission and I thought I'd join him if you don't need me around."

A small part of Sirius' comment slightly annoyed Harry.  "Don't take this the wrong way Sirius because I couldn't be happier you're back but I can take care of myself.  I'll be fine.  Maybe if you two are together you can keep each other out of trouble."  After a quick pause he added, "More likely Remus keeping you out of trouble but whatever."

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed.  "I've pulled Moony out of plenty of situations, I'll tell you that."

"Yeah, but you probably got him into them to begin with," Harry said laughing and was quickly joined by his Godfather.

"Ok, I'll go to keep him in line.  Do you still have that mirror I gave you?" Sirius asked.

Harry winced at the thought of the mirror.  "I broke it," he admitted.  "I didn't even open it until after you…you know.  I didn't want to bother you with school stuff while you were hiding."

"You would have never been a bother to me," the man softly said.  "Do you still have the pieces?" Harry nodded.  "Well send them to me and I'll see if we can get it working before Moony and I leave."

"I'll send Hedwig tonight," Harry quickly said, anxious to have a good way to communicate with his Godfather.


	15. The Ball

- - -Author Notes ---

BJH:  I agree that things went a little too well for Harry in the last chapter.  My theory is that Harry could forget the way he and Ron had been because he was so happy to have Sirius back.  Then, I think Harry's more powerful than he realizes and when he's only thinking about happy things (Sirius/Kari), he can just let go.  I won't give away much by saying he and Ron still have some ups & downs.    Can't argue about your comments of that chapter, I kind of agree…. Thanks for reviewing…

Hunta:  Thanks for pointing out the grammatical error.  I've fixed it in the last chapter and searched to find out I'd done it 2 more times.  Thanks

- - ----------

The day before the Valentine Ball finally arrived and it seemed that girls were always in groups talking amongst themselves.  Harry and Ron were sitting in the corner watching them.  This reminded Harry how things used to be between the friends but had been very rare lately.  With both of them having girlfriends and especially with Harry's being from a different house, they didn't spend as much time together as they used to.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?"  Ron asked.  "Looks like they're up to no good."

Harry chuckled and said, "I don't think we're meant to know."  Ginny just came through the portrait hole and made for the group of girls.  "So Ginny's going with Martin huh?"

"Yeah," Ron said with a scowl.  "Hermione won't tell me much about him.  How good can he be though, he's a Hufflepuff.  He just better watch his hands."

Even at breakfast the next morning, all the Gryffindor girls were still sitting together at one end of the table.  Glancing at the Slytherin table, Harry noticed Kari and 3 other girls sitting together but obviously in a different group than most of the girls from that house.  Silently, Harry wondered if that was all the girls who didn't side with Voldemort.

A flock of owls signaled mail time and Harry picked up the Daily Prophet while Ron was reading his other mail.  Seeing the headline he said, "Ron, look at this!"

**Spies in the Ministry:  How deep did You-Know-Who's Reach Go?**

**A massive sting operation was carried out last night. The new Administration suspected infiltration into the Ministry ranks and began planting false information weeks ago.  The culmination of that operation began last night when Terry Wizenat, the Minister of Finance was arrested and accused of being a spy for You-Know-Who. Wizenat was appointed by Cornelius Fudge on the recommendation of Lucius Malfoy, an escaped Death Eater.**

**Six high-level posts were abandoned once word of the sting got out and that the Ministry was using Vertiserum to question department heads.  The Ministry is keeping those names under wraps but Aurors are on the alert to bring them in for questioning.**

"I think I like Minister Bones," Harry said after reading the article.  "She's really doing something."

"Wonder if they questioned dad?" Ron wondered out loud.

Harry saw a lot of the Hufflepuffs questioning Susan Bones but all she seemed to be able to do was shrug.  She didn't seem comfortable in that position and understood how she felt.

After quickly finishing his meal, Harry was waiting for Kari outside the Great Hall when Susan hurried out looking frenzied.  "How are you handling it?" Harry asked startling the girl.

Susan almost snapped at him but when she realized it was Harry; she softened and said, "I wish they'd leave me alone.  They think I know everything."

Harry laughed and said, "I bet they'll get used to it and go back to treating you normal."

"Hasn't seemed to happen for you yet," she replied looking sad.

Harry shrugged and said, "You know I think she's doing a brilliant job though.  She'll make a big difference."

"Me too," Susan said smiling.  "She wants to meet you sometime?"

"Me?  Why?"

Susan chuckled and said, "Because silly, you and Professor Dumbledore are they only people most of the community believes anymore.  They like my Auntie but still aren't sure whether to trust anyone in the Ministry or not."  Harry grimaced.  "Besides, the only time you've met her was at a trial where the Ministry set you up.  You should see what she's really like."

Harry thought and said, "You know I think I'd like that."   "So you're going to the ball with Neville."

Susan blushed a bit and said, "Yeah.  He asked me straight away."

"He's come a long way," Harry said smiling back.

"Having people believe in you makes all the difference.  I've gotta go," she added as she walked away.

"Getting points with the Minister's niece….how very Slytherin," Kari teased coming up behind Harry.  "Maybe there's hope for you yet."

The two moved outside to the steps hand-in-hand when Harry asked, "What are you going to do after leaving Hogwarts?"

"My father owns an international trading company and I'd like to take it over one day so I'll either go to work there or something in the Ministry to make contacts," she replied.  "You?"

"I thought about being an Auror," Harry said but her chuckle stopped him.  "What's so funny?"

"Somehow I just don't see that."

"I can make it.  I'd be a good Auror," Harry said slightly irritated.

"Whoa, down…" Kari joked.  "I'd say you could make it today but just don't see you lasting in that job."  She saw his confused face and said, "Listen, you're 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'." Harry started to protest so she said, "For better or worse you are.  With the current batch of Aurors, you've already faced more Death Eaters than most. And you kind of have an 'authority issue' so I can't see you taking orders from some political pinhead.

"Besides, once you kick You-Know-Who's arse why stop at being an Auror?  You'll be able to just take over the Minister's job."

Now Harry laughed and said, "There's no way I'd be elected."

Kari shook her head and said, "You'd stand a good chance right now but once you're 'The Boy Who Kicked Butt' you could just take over the Ministry.  Who's going to argue?"

Harry couldn't tell if she was kidding or serious but a voice stopped him from wondering.  "Who's going to take over the Ministry?" Ron anxiously questioned as he and Hermione walked up.  Hermione had been making more of an effort to talk to the Slytherin girl.

Not wanting any argument Harry started saying, "Oh it was….."

"I was just telling Harry that once he deals with You-Know-Who that he could just take over the Ministry.  Just walk in, tell the current Minister he wants the job," Kari firmly said.  Now Harry thought she was being serious and hoped she wouldn't say anything about the prophecy.

Ron just glared at the girl but Hermione found her voice and said, "Well Harry won't be dealing with Voldemort.  He'll leave that up to Professor Dumbledore and the Ministry."  She now looked firmly at Harry and said, "Won't you Harry?"

"It's not like I've gone off looking for him before you know," Harry said.

"Besides," Hermione quickly added, "he's going to be an Auror.  Right Harry?"

Kari chuckled and this made Harry laugh.  His friends were looking at him strangely when he explained, "I'm not so sure anymore.  Someone pointed out that I have an 'issue with authority'…among others."

"But Harry," Ron said, "we're going to the Academy together."

"I'll probably still go through the training no matter what," Harry said taking Kari's hand in his.

"Then you can take over the Ministry," she threw in.

Harry could see that Hermione was biting her tongue and holding back a comment so he said, "All that's a long time away."  Without thinking he added, "I may not make it that long."

That was the wrong thing to say as all three rounded on him with Hermione saying, "Harry!"

"Don't you ever say that again Potter," Kari scolded, poking him in the chest quite firmly.  "You'll make it and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure of it."

It struck a cord how convinced she sounded and Harry quickly said, "I can live with that deal."

"Good," Kari added, "and you know I always keep my end of a deal."

Hermione watched the exchange and began to think she may have to re-evaluate her opinion of the Slytherin girl and her impact on Harry.  "So," Hermione said trying to change the subject, "are you going get Harry on the dance floor?"

"Of course," she confidently said to the shock of Harry.

"I told you…."

"Yes…yes…you can't dance.  If you'll remember, I'm decent with numbing charms.  I'll just use a couple on my feet," she smirked at him.

"What about you Ron?  Have you two been practicing?" Harry asked trying to get Ron into the conversation.

"One song.  A short, slow one," he said with a glare at Hermione.

Ron and Harry spent the morning of the ball making fun of the girls in their house.  Even Quidditch practice had been a disaster because the girls on the team couldn't concentrate on flying.  The two boys had finally settled into a chess match in the corner as most of their housemates scurried around in frenzy about one thing or the other.  "Aren't you nervous about your first ball with Hermione?" Harry asked just as Ron checkmated his king.

"Why should I be nervous?  We're only going to dance for one song.  I can do that," the boy replied after clearing the board.

"You really think she'll let you get away with only one dance?" Harry asked and saw Ron look at him intently.  "Mate," Harry said shaking his head, "apart from you I probably know her the best and there's now way she's going to go along with only one dance at this thing.  You remember her at the Tri-Wizard ball and she only liked Krum as a friend."  Seeing Ron suddenly become worried Harry added, "You're up for five or six trips to the floor easy."

"B…b…but she said only one short one," Ron snapped.

"If you say so," Harry said laughing.  "Hermione seems to have a way to get me to do whatever she wants and I would imagine she has more ways to exert pressure on you."

Ron started to look nauseous and said, "Well what about you?  You've got to dance too."

"Well the difference is that I already know Kari would kick my arse if I don't dance so I've kind of given up.  You however seem to have some delusion that you have any say so on what happens tonight," Harry replied seemingly resigned to his fate this night.

Ron studied him for a second and said, "How are you ok with this?  I mean you've not the same since she's been around."

Harry almost snapped at his friend but calmly said, "I don't feel the same since we got together.  At first it was really just a deal, you know Potions help for Defense.  But somehow it became more about spending time with her and I didn't realize it until the Holiday."  After a second he added, "She just treats me normally. She doesn't care about all the stuff that goes along with me.  I trust her."

Ron grimaced and then said, "We don't care about the other stuff either."

Harry quickly spoke up before Ron could continue," You do too Ron.   Listen, I don't want to get into it but this year hasn't been good for us.  You cared back in fourth year and early this year both you and Hermione did treat me differently."  After an uncomfortable pause he added, "You two are together and that means we can't be the same anymore."   Seeing the hurt look on his friend's face he said, "That's not a bad thing though.  You're still my best friend and like my brother and Hermione is like my sister, it's just different now."  After a very uncomfortable couple of minutes Harry said, "C'mon let's join the rest and get ready."

The boys were changing and joking back and forth when Dean said, "So Harry maybe you'll get a chance to see the Slytherin Common Room tonight?"

Before Harry could joke back Ron said, "Oh, we saw that second year."  Then the boy realized what he said and just stared at Harry who was blankly looking back.  They turned to see the other three Gryffindor boys looking wide-eyed at them.

"You're kidding right?" Seamus asked as the others just stared.

Ron still looked worried but Harry suddenly broke out laughing and said, "Oh you should have seen us setting there talking to Malfoy."  This brought even more strange looks from the boys and Ron was looking at Harry like he was crazy.  "What?  Of course we looked like Crabb and Goyle at the time."

Now Ron started smiling thinking about what had happened and he joined into telling the other boys what had happened.  This passed enough time that they finally got serious about getting ready.  Harry noticed Ron pulling out his dress robes and asked, "New robes?"

Ron seemed to get a bit red and said, "I did some -product testing- for the twins this summer to make extra money."

"You let them test their stuff on you?" Harry asked thinking Ron was smarter than that.

"They're past the stage where anything's dangerous," Ron said shrugging.  "I started thinking about…you know…her and knew I needed some new things."

"She wouldn't have cared about any of that," Harry said knowing how Ron felt about money.

"Yeah, I know.  But I would," Ron said firmly.

Harry had just pulled his dress robes on when Ron said, "Whoa now those are wicked."

"Tonks picked them out," Harry said thinking about that day in the shop and how Kari told him to keep them as well.  Looking at the robes now Harry was amazed that he wasn't more nervous about this ball.  He hated the thought of the Tri-Wizard ball but now he was very anxious to go.  "I'll see you guys down there," he said making his way to the door.

"You sitting with us mate?" Ron asked before he made it out.

Harry hadn't thought about that.  Kari probably wouldn't want to sit at a table of Gryffindors and he wasn't sure he felt comfortable sitting at the Slytherin table. Seeing his hesitation Dean joked, "He's got to check with the boss first."

Harry gave a half-hearted laugh and said, "I'm sure we'll be moving around a lot."

The two had agreed to meet near the passage to the kitchens and Harry quickly realized they should have picked someplace else.  This was directly on the path many students were taking to the ball and it seemed everyone was staring at him as he paced back and forth waiting for the girl.  Looking up after many back and forth walks Harry saw Kari standing near the wall just watching him.  She was dressed in a pitch black robe trimmed in silver beading.  Her top under the robe was also a soft silver fabric that gracefully came together in a V.  Harry always knew the girl was pretty but honestly hadn't thought much about her looks before.  Seeing her dressed like this pointed out just how pretty she was.

Kari saw the look Harry was giving her and smiled brightly sensing what he may be thinking.  "I take it you approve," she said starting to walk toward him.  When she made this motion and her robe began to move, Harry saw it shimmer green and knew it was made of the same fabric as his robe but charmed green instead of red.  He also saw she was wearing high heels that put her slightly taller than him.

"You look great," Harry said a bit more enthusiastically than he intended causing him to blush.  Trying to recover he said, "Nice robes."

"Thanks," she said reaching Harry.  Without hesitation, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.  Harry still wasn't quite used to just being able to kiss her whenever he felt like it.  "I couldn't have a Gryffindor dressing better than me now could I?" she teased.  "I asked my mom to get them since I was pretty sure what you'd be wearing."

"Don't you think we'll clash?  You know green and red," Harry teased back taking her hand as the two started down the hall, ignoring the looks the other students were giving them.

Without looking Kari said, "You should know by now that I don't care what anyone thinks.  But if you want to change into something a little more green I won't argue."

"Not on your life Boslav," Harry quickly said then looked down at her shoes.  "You had to go and wear shoes that made you taller than me didn't you."

"What?" she faked not knowing what he was talking about.  "You're not feeling inadequate are you?"

Harry just shook his head as they reached the Great Hall but stopped her before going in.  "Oh, by the way happy Valentine's Day," Harry said holding a small box in his hand.

She eyed him appraisingly and said, "So you're not totally clueless.  I was giving you the benefit of the doubt."  She took the box and opened it.  Harry watched her closely and saw the look of surprise quickly flash on her face before it changed to a sly look.  "And I suppose you want me to wear this?" she asked holding up a thin gold chair with a grouping of four brilliant red stones.

"Well," Harry said taking the necklace from her and stepping around, "it would be the proper thing for you to do.  Especially since you said you don't care if we clash or not."  Carefully putting the chain around her neck, he felt her flinch a bit when he brushed the back of her neck.  Taking more time than necessary he finally closed the clasp and stepped back in front of her.

"It's beautiful.  Thank you," she honestly said giving him another kiss.

"What a disgrace Boslav," Malfoy said as he had just walked up with Pansy Parkinson draped on his arm.  She also had a look of disgust on her face.

Harry tightened up but Kari firmly said, "I warned you Malfoy.  Not another word."

The torn look on Malfoy's face was evident but he pulled his date and said, "C'mon Pansy I'll be sick if I stay near them any longer."

"What was that about?" Harry asked.

"I think the mood in the Slytherin house is changing.  More of us than you think don't put up with his kind anymore.  Of course we won't show that outside of our area though.  Wouldn't want you Gryffindors to get a good impression of us," she said raising her eyebrows.  Seeing his expression caused her to laugh and say, "C'mon let's make an entrance.  Oh, by the way maybe I'll thank you properly for the gift later."

Harry nearly stopped when he saw the look on her face but she kept walking. The two walked into the elaborately decorated hall hand-in-hand with Harry feeling more content than normal.  When she veered toward the Slytherin side Harry said, "This can't be good."

"We're going to expand you horizons Potter," she said not slowing down.  "I've been around your friends quite a few times and you don't think that was easy now do you?" 

Harry hadn't really thought that much about how she would feel when then spent time with his friends. He knew that Ron often said things that were inappropriate but Kari never seemed to let it bother her.  If she could do that for him, he owed her the same consideration.  "As long as you're going to protect me," he teased.

"Well since I am bigger than you it only seems fair," she smirked and Harry merely shook his head.

The two walked to a table that was nearly full and as they stepped up, Harry saw one of the boys charm the candles to give off a green light. 'This won't be pretty' Harry thought and Kari must have sensed it because she squeezed his hand.

"Hi guys," Kari confidently said and Harry did notice that most of the girls greeted her brightly but the boys eyed him warily.  "I'm sure you all know Harry but let me introduce you," she said and Harry's nervousness rose a bit.  Harry tried his best to make it seem like this was normal and he was comfortable.  By the time he had been introduced to everyone at the table he felt much calmer.  Only one of the boys had gripped his hand as if trying to break it but Harry gave as much back as he could.

After a few minutes, Harry had a new appreciation of how Kari handled herself around his friends.  He still drew odd looks from the boys but the girls seemed to be giving him at least a chance.  Kari, to her credit drew him into many conversations and tried to steer them toward neutral topics. Harry was quite surprised that they talked about the exact same things that his friends did when they were together.

He must have smiled at this thought because the boy across from him; Tyler coldly said, "What's so funny Potter?"

The table became silent and Kari was about to say something when Harry said, "Just thinking that these are the same conversations I have around my friends."  With a quick laugh he added, "I don't know what I expected you guys to talk about."

"We don't all sit around planning your painful death.  Some of us don't care if it's quick and painless," a boy two over from Tyler said.

There wasn't any sound as Harry stared at the boy but then saw the Slytherin's mouth twitch and form into a smile.  Harry laughed loudly and said, "Well I guess that's good to know."

It seemed that brought down some of the hesitation they all seemed to have and the group quickly got into discussions about all kinds of topics.  They even briefly touched on the Battle at the Ministry a few times but most of the conversations were light-hearted.

Over at the Gryffindor table a few of the occupants were watching the exchange at the Slytherin table closely.  One of them to the extent that her date began to notice.  "Is everything ok Ginny?" Martin asked knowing what she was looking at.

"What?" Ginny snapped and then softened.  "I mean everything's fine."

"It does seem odd," Martin said and it only took Ginny a second to realize he knew who she was watching.

Ron must have heard because he loudly said, "I can't believe he's over there joking with them.  Doesn't he remember everything they've done to us?"

"Maybe he's hoping that later tonight she'll show him how sorry she is for the way they've treated him," Dean joked and was immediately hit by Lavender.

"C'mon honey," Dean sweetly said.  "If anybody needs a good roll it's Harry."

"Let's dance," Ginny said nearly dragging Martin out of his seat.

"I'm sure he'll come over here Ron," Hermione said also confused at how happy Harry appeared at the Slytherin table.  Ron started to say something but Hermione added, "And remember what you said about trying to think about what you say to him.  Just because he's making other friends doesn't mean you're not his best friend."

Ron relaxed and softly said, "It's just not the same anymore.  Why did it have to change?  It was always supposed to be the three of us."

"I know Ron," Hermione replied and surprisingly had nothing else to say.

Kari had finally gotten Harry onto the dance floor and after a few moments of awkwardness, he found that he actually enjoyed dancing with the girl.  "See this isn't so bad and I haven't had to charm my feet yet," she teased dancing close to him.

"Not bad at all," Harry said squeezing her a little.  "How about after the next song we head over to my friends?"

"I hoped you'd forget about that," she replied making a sad face.  Seeing his look she added, "Fine…I know it was a deal."

The next song was a slow one and the two began slowly moving together.  Harry began to feel extremely content and soon began to let his mind just drift as he moved along with Kari.  Soon however, his thoughts weren't on the softness of his date.  He was now looking into the dark piercing eyes of an intimidating man and speaking in a voice that wasn't his own.

"You have the book?" Harry said in his head.

The man firmly said, "I can get it."

"I told you to bring it!" the voice in Harry's head roared and he saw a wand extend.

The man stood firm and said, "It would not serve you to harm me.  My kind can either been a valuable ally or an imposing enemy."

"I could destroy you all," Harry said.

"At a great cost I assure you," the man calmly replied.

"The Ministry won't want your help," Harry calmly said.

"They won't refuse it at this point.  Now back to the Tome of Renaul."

"Yes the book," Harry said.  "I expect you to deliver it soon."

"Tampering with the dead is risky.  Are you sure you can control them?"

The evil voice in Harry's head laughed coldly and said, "You get me the book and they will listen to only me."

A softer voice was calling out, "Harry…Can you hear me?"

Finally getting his bearings, Harry realized he was now standing against a wall at the side of the Great Hall.  Kari was standing before him looking very worried.  "What happened?  Are you ok?"

Still slightly confused Harry said, "Yeah, I'm ok.  It was…"

He was cut off by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall approaching.  "Harry, would you join us in the next room please?" Dumbledore asked then turned to Kari and said, "Miss Boslav you are welcome to join us."

Harry squeezed her hand as they followed Professor McGonagall into the next room.  Once Harry was through and heard the door shut, another voice got his attention, "Do tell what does the Great Harry Potter have to say?"  Professor Snape was standing just behind Professor Dumbledore.

Harry was surprised to see Kari glaring at her head of house so fiercely.  "Severus," Dumbledore cautioned.  "Now Harry," he said turning back to the boy, "I take it that wasn't simply dozing off was it?"

Kari was studying him closely still with a tight hold on his hand.  "It was Voldemort," Harry said straight away.  "I was dancing and just thinking about how great it was," he said and then smiled a bit as Kari glowed brightly at him, "I guess I just let my mind wander and then I was him."

"You were him?" Dumbledore questioned.  "Like the last time?"

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"So it was a planted vision," Snape swiftly said.  "You have absolutely no control over your thoughts."

Harry really didn't know if it was real or not but Dumbledore asked, "Please tell us what you saw." 

Harry went on to tell the whole story up until Kari snapped him out of the vision.  "It seemed odd that he was alone with the man."

"Maybe not," Dumbledore softly said but when Professor McGonagall and Snape looked at the old man he said, "Would you mind if I spoke to Harry alone for a minute."  Professor McGonagall immediately turned to leave and only after a glare at his student did Professor Snape make to leave.  Kari obviously didn't want to leave until Professor Dumbledore said, "I promise to have him back in just a moment Miss Boslav."

"I'll be right outside Harry," she said before following the teachers out.

"It wasn't planted was it?" Harry quickly asked.

Professor Dumbledore studied him and said, "I don't believe so.  Voldemort has been trying to recruit help even more so than we have.  He would covet the Vampire's aid greatly."

"That man was a Vampire!" Harry exclaimed.

"If he spoke of the Tome of Renaul, I believe he was," Dumbledore said seeming to ponder something.  "I assume you know Remus and Sirius are on a mission?" he asked.

"They're talking to them as well," Harry said realizing what the mission was.

"They would be tremendous allies," Dumbledore said.  "And they are not so distrusting of wizards yet."

"How is it going?" Harry asked.

"I cannot say for certain, but hearing that they did not turn the book over yet gives me hope," the Headmaster said brightening a bit.

"Why is this book so important to him?"

 "I believe that he knows it could be a great danger to him.  He does not yet know that only you can destroy him, he only knows that you will have the power to do it.  There are ancient spells in the book and until he is sure they can't be used against him, he will not want this information out," Dumbledore said watching Harry closely.

After a minute the Headmaster said, "I am trying to make sure you are more informed as you have been doing with me.  Don't let every bit of news weigh on you so much.  Now why don't you go back to your date before she decides to come in and drag you away."

Harry smiled a little and said, "Thank you for telling me."  Trying to keep his thoughts up Harry opened the door and was immediately grabbed by his date.

"One more minute and I was going to drag you back out here," she said looking angrily to where Professor Dumbledore still stood.  "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah.  He thinks it was a real vision." Harry looked at her worry and said, "Sorry about that."

"Don't be," she quickly said as they walked to the punch table, "It was just a shock but next time will be no problem."

They had just picked up their punch when his two best friends arrived looking worried.  "Did something happen?  We saw you on the dance floor and then you all went into that room," Hermione rapidly said.

Harry nodded toward the wall and the four moved away from the other people.  "You know, just normal stuff," he said pointing to his scar. "Voldemort's trying to get something."  Seeing the worried look on Hermione's face he added, "Dumbledore said not to worry and I don't know anything about it."

"And you're ok with that?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry quickly said, "He explains more to me so it's ok."

Hermione eyed him carefully and Harry fully expected many more questions but she surprised him.  "Are you two going to make it over to our side?" Hermione asked and Harry noticed Ron looked hopeful.

He was just about to say 'sure' when Kari said, "We would have been there by now if Potter would just leave You-Know-Who alone.  I mean here he is in my arms and all he can think about is The Dark Lord."  Harry saw an evil smile on her face.

"You shouldn't joke about that Kari," Hermione firmly said.

"It's ok Hermione," Harry cut in, "Better than worrying about it.  C'mon."

Hermione stood staring for a moment at how Harry didn't seem to be letting the vision get to him.  Only last year he would have gotten all moody and worried about it and for the second time she found herself surprised by the changes in him since meeting the Slytherin girl.

Harry felt grateful to his dorm mates when he introduced Kari.  The boys had already accepted the fact he was seeing a Slytherin, and of course her being very pretty didn't hurt.  Lavender and Parvati started off acting very cold to the girl.  Kari however didn't seem bothered by this and once she started complimenting their robes, the two Gryffindor girls came along nicely.

The only person not warming up to the Slytherin was Ginny Weasley.  She steadfastly refused to even speak to the girl.  Harry was about to ask her what was wrong when a slower song started and she pulled her date onto the dance floor.

This reminded Hermione of something and she said, "C'mon Ron you promised."

Ron turned a bit pale at the thought of dancing but Harry said, "It's not that bad Ron.  And you don't have to worry about somebody getting into your head."

"Are you coming out as well?" he pleaded.

Harry started to say sure but Kari quickly said, "I think I'll give Harry a pass on having to dance anymore."  Getting a sly look in her eye she asked, "Can that room of yours be anything?"  Harry hesitantly nodded. "Even…" she started and then whispered something into his ear.

After blinking a couple times, a bright smile crossed Harry's face as Kari began to lead him away.  Turning he said, "Ummm… I'mm…..Well…See you later."

"Told you she was going to apologize," Dean teased but then looked slightly annoyed as he added, "That room never opens for me."

"Me either," Seamus quickly said drawing an evil glare from his date.  Trying to cover he said, "Wanna dance love?"

Coming down from his dorm the next morning, Harry was still in a dreamy state after his evening with Kari.  She had been right on with the setting she suggested and the two spent time walking but still taking frequent breaks for snogging.  If this was what having a girlfriend was about, Harry was very pleased to have one.  Without even realizing anyone else was in the room, Harry hit the bottom stair and turned to go towards the portrait hole.

"Harry!" he finally heard Hermione yell and it snapped him out of his thoughts.  Turning, he saw her looking concerned.  Ron was sitting next to her with an amused expression on his face.

"Sorry," he quickly said, "I was just thinking."

"Thinking or reliving a special moment from last night," Ron joked drawing a scowl from Hermione.

"Ron," she scolded, "they haven't been seeing each other very long.  I'm sure nothing happened.  Besides, there's no way Harry would do anything like that yet."  By the end of this she was almost asking that as a question rather than making a statement.

Not catching this Harry said, "C'mon let's go to breakfast, I'm starving."

Ginny had sat down next to Hermione and was quickly in a quiet conversation with the other girl when the Daily Prophet arrived.  None of the trio bothered to pick up Hermione's copy until gasps from other tables go their attention.  Hermione was the quickest and opened the Prophet to see:

**Ministry Attacked!  New Wards Hold!**

**At least 50 hooded wizards launched a wide-spread attack on sections of the Ministry late last night.  The wizards entered the main hall and quickly began attacking sections on the main floor. **

**Thankfully newly reinforced wards held where they had been installed.  Only the Department of Magical Creatures which did not have the new wards was heavily damaged.  Squads of Aurors appeared within minutes causing the attacking wizards to flee, but not before some were captured.**

**A spokesperson for the Minister said, "Minister Bones' highest priority has been the protection of the Ministry and the community.  She pushed non-stop for the wards to be changed immediately after taking office.  Thankfully the staff was in areas where the wards had been improved.  The Department of Magical Creatures was scheduled to be upgraded next week."**

**Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror Division Leader said, "We've been expecting this.  He started with Muggles but we knew that wouldn't satisfy him."**

Hermione turned to Harry and asked, "Is this what your vision was?"

Harry shook his head and said, "No!  It was only him talking to some guy."  After a pause he added, "This is going to make him mad.  He'll make up for it."

It was only two days later before Harry's prediction came true.  A wizarding community near Kent was attacked and nearly leveled.  Over 80 Death Eaters destroyed 40 homes and killed 113 people.  The mood in the castle darkened considerably that day.

A couple days later, Hermione came to where Kari and Harry were studying in the library and sat down.  "Harry, a lot of people are asking if they can join the group.  I mean a lot."

Harry rolled his eyes and Kari added, "She's right.  I bet half my house has asked as well."  She nodded her head when she saw the amazed look on Harry's face.

"I can barely handle how many we have," Harry said getting worried.

"We should try to help them," Hermione hesitantly said.

Harry was really torn.  The group right now was large and he didn't spend as much time with each person as he thought he should.  Adding more would only make it worse.  But the feeling of guilt at not helping other people learn was gnawing at him. 

Just when he was about to agree Kari firmly said, "No.  Don't let any more in."

"Kari!" Hermione exclaimed.  "They need to learn."

The Slytherin didn't respond to Hermione and just locked eyes with Harry and said, "You know what's important Harry.  It important what **you** learn.  You know that by helping us you're learning some but taking time away from other things you could learn.  They can form their own group.  You have to focus on what's really important."

The conviction in her eyes couldn't be missed by Harry and he did know she was right.  She was the only one who knew about the prophecy.  "Harry?" Hermione questioned.

"I just can't handle any more," Harry said to her.  "If you or anyone from the group wants to start another, they can do the same things we are.  I just don't have time.  They can learn from someone else."

Looking at the determination on Kari's face, Hermione wondered if she knew why everyone in the Order was so worried about Harry and she felt the jealousy begin to bubble up again.  Not wanting to get into it now, she decided to agree.  "They want to learn from you Harry," Hermione said, "But I understand you've got a lot going on.  We'll keep it the same size."

"Thank you," Harry said relaxing a bit.

Once Hermione left Harry turned to Kari and said, "And thank you."

"Anytime," she softly said, "You can't do everything for everyone.  Not even The-Boy-Who-Lived's that good."  Harry tried to fake a hurt look but she only added, "Besides that would cut into times we could be using to keep your mind off of things."

Finally arriving at the Common Room well after curfew, Harry was surprised to see Ginny sitting with Ron and Hermione.  Making his way directly to him he said, "I didn't think anybody would be up."  Ginny scooted over so Harry could sit down.  This was his first indication something was up since she hadn't said more than a couple words to him since he explained about finding Sirius.

"So how do you think Quidditch is going?  It looks like Ravenclaw will be in the running for the cup," Hermione brightly said and Harry's jaw dropped.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Hermione?" Harry said smiling.  "Has she been sniffing potions too long?"

Hermione playfully hit his hand as Ginny and Ron laughed.  Harry knew something was up but was willing to play along.  "Very funny Harry," Hermione said acting mad.  "We just haven't really talked in a while and I was curious."

"We talk every day Hermione.  You're in most of my classes," Harry said raising his eyebrows.   "Besides there's no way I could give you any more information about the team than these two.  If it wasn't for them we wouldn't be in the running."

"That's not true," Ginny quickly corrected him.  "Ever since before Holiday you've been coming up with great plays.  Ravenclaw won't know what hit them."

"I knew you must be reading those old magazines," Ron added.

"Ok, what's really going on?" Harry asked.  "You all didn't wait up for me to talk about Quidditch."

Ron's ears turned pink and Hermione fidgeted but Ginny firmly said, "We just miss how it used to be.  Where we all sat around talking about things and studying."

In truth so did Harry.  He had been spending almost all his free time with Kari and wasn't willing to give all of that up but did miss his friends.  The issues he had with Ron seemed like such a long time ago.  "Well," Harry said smiling, "I miss you guys too but we've never really sat like this.  Last year, well I was a royal prat."  Harry laughed and then added, "And Ginny was off with her boyfriend."  Ginny rolled her eyes.  "But I think we should start doing it more."

"Really?" Ron said, surprised Harry had agreed so quickly.  He then asked, "What do you think the Order is dong.  Things are getting bad."

That wasn't the topic Hermione had in mind but it worked out well as Harry told them all he knew and even learned that Bill was trying to get an alliance with the Goblins.  For the next couple hours it was just like four best friends again.  Hermione had occasionally tried to get Harry to talk about more personal things but he successfully dodged her attempts each time.

Harry went on to bed while the other three were slowly making moves in that direction.  Once out of earshot Hermione said, "Thanks Ginny, it wouldn't have gone as well if you weren't here."

Ginny was still looking at the stairs Harry had disappeared up and said, "Yeah well acting mad at him wasn't doing any good.  Besides, they can't last forever.  Harry will come to his senses before long and I don't want to be acting all mad at him when that happens."

"What?" Ron questioned.  "But you're over him!  Hermione told him so."

"I know she did Ron," Ginny said glaring a bit at her female friend.  "Hermione and I –discussed- that already."

Hermione looked a little guilty and Ron said, "So you're not?  I mean you still fancy him?"

"You have a problem with that?" Ginny snapped at her brother.

"No…I mean not really. But why couldn't you have done something earlier.  You know before that Slytherin got him," Ron asked sounding sad.

Now Ginny looked only annoyed as she said, "Just shut up Ron.  You're not meant to figure girls out."

"You still handled tonight really well," Hermione said.  "We'll do this more often.  It'll do all of us good to work on our friendships again."  Even Ron agreed with this.

The next day, Hermione timed her arrival to the corridor leading to her Arithmacy class  specifically to meet up with someone.  "Kari," Hermione called from a few steps behind the Slytherin girl.

"Hello Hermione," Kari pleasantly said.

"Can I talk to you for a minute," Hermione asked, pointing to a quiet corner.

"Sure," Kari said following the girl.  "What's up?"

"Well," Hermione said suddenly seeming a bit nervous, "I'm not sure how much you know but there's a group of people that are really worried about Harry."

Kari didn't express any emotions, while replaying Tonks' conversation to her and calmly said, "So I've heard."

Hermione silently cursed the Slytherin girl's ability to keep her feelings in check.  "Well I'm sure you know by now how Harry keeps everything to himself if he thinks it will bother us."

"Tell me about it," she said with some emphasis.

Hermione took this as a good sign and said, "This group knows something's going on with Harry.  Something big but Harry won't talk about it.  He just changes the subject whenever we try."

The Slytherin didn't answer and just continued to look Hermione.  Slightly flustered, Hermione continued, "Anyway I was just wondering if you happened to find out what it was."

"Hermione," Kari said with an understanding tone, "I can promise you that the last thing I would ever do is to betray Harry. To anyone.  So, even if I knew something, nothing could make me talk about it."

"But we could help," Hermione exclaimed, now more sure than ever the girl knew.

"If," Kari emphasized, "something is going on with Harry I truly believe that you could and would help him, and it would be good for him.  I think that IF something was going on with him that he should talk to you about it.  But, if I'm being honest, I don't think that your boyfriend would be any help at all…That is IF something was going on with Harry."

Hermione thought hard and then asked, "But what if he's going to do something stupid and get hurt?"

Kari didn't have to think very long.  "If I thought Harry was going to do something stupid, I would try my best to talk him out of it but I would not…for ANY reason…betray his trust and tell someone about it.  Harry's smart enough to make his own decisions," Kari said knowing this wasn't what Hermione wanted to hear.

"I see," Hermione said, disappointed that she didn't find out anything.

Before Hermione could head to class Kari said, "Hermione.  I have no problem with you continuing to try and get Harry to talk about anything that might be going on with him."  Hermione didn't like where this left her but did have to respect Kari's loyalty.

Over the next week, things got into a routine with the four sitting up a few nights a week studying or just talking about what was going out outside the school.  Harry should have realized things were going too smoothly and after supper, Professor McGonagall came to the Gryffindor table and said, "Mr. Potter the Headmaster would like to see you."

Harry hadn't been to see the Headmaster for a while and knew of no good reason he needed to so his mind immediately went to the worst possible reasons.  "But we were going to study," Ron quickly said drawing a look from Hermione.

"I'm sure you can study without Potter's presence Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said stepping away. 

Kari caught Harry's eye and looked worried but he just shrugged and mouthed, 'tell you later.'

McGonagall said nothing on the trip to the Headmaster's office and left him once the staircase started rising.  Before he could even knock the Headmaster said, "Come in Harry."

Stepping in, it felt like ages since Harry had been in the office.  Fawkes gave a trill and Harry went directly to the beautiful animal.  "Hi Fawkes," he said stroking the bird's plumage, causing it to rub its beak against Harry's arm.

"Fawkes becomes more attached to you each year," the Headmaster said stepping around next to Harry.

"Well it's a good thing he was just a baby at the end of last year.  He must not remember how I acted," Harry said surprising himself by joking about that night.

Professor Dumbledore twinkled brightly and said, "He would have probably joined you if he was grown. And when Fawkes is upset, you know it."

Looking around, Harry saw the portraits watching warily and it annoyed him slightly.  He wondered how much they sat around talking about him.  Noticing that the Headmaster was silently watching him he asked, "Is something wrong sir?"


	16. The Plan

"Have you been following the Daily Prophet?" Dumbledore simply asked watching the young man in front of him closely.

"Not for a while sir," Harry admitted, "None of my friends have said anything either."

Smiling again Dumbledore said, "You have good friends Harry.  Quite a few of Voldemort's attacks have been less than totally successful.  Now this is mainly due to the Ministry's preparedness and of course our friends, but there have been some editorials and many letters suggesting that you and I are having something to do with his failures.  More often you."

"What!" Harry exclaimed.  "I haven't done anything."

"Of course you haven't.  However this has been an embarrassment to Voldemort, and added to the incident at Christmas, we have been able to get information from a few of his followers who are now re-thinking their choice."

'More spies,' Harry thought not really trusting their information.

"I don't trust them totally either," Professor Dumbledore said drawing a glare from the student.  "Not Legilimency Harry," the man quickly said, "It just seems we think alike on more issues than you would imagine."  After a pause where the old Wizard turned a device on his desk as he continued, "What this does show is that he is being doubted from within and he knows this.  He wants to make a point."  The man produced a parchment and handed it to Harry.

After studying this for a moment Harry exclaimed, "This is my schedule and where I've been the past month!"

Dumbledore nodded and said, "Indeed.  This was recovered from a Death Eater captured not far from Hogsmeade." 

This shocked Harry but when he really thought about it, knew it shouldn't have.  He had just been able to push the thoughts of being in danger out of his day to day thinking.  The Headmaster's voice brought him out of his drifting, "You are being watched closely.  As much as I wish you could go on as any other student, it is growing more obvious that you cannot.  Things are rapidly progressing to a most volatile level.  I'm afraid that you will not be able to leave the grounds for the remainder of the year."

Hearing some scuffling, Harry looked around to see the occupants of many of the portraits moving behind large objects in their surroundings, clearly ready for him to explode.  Surprisingly Harry didn't feel like exploding, he agreed with the Headmaster.  "I guess it makes sense," he said and noticed the portraits looking quite confused.

"Thank you for understanding Harry," Dumbledore said, "There will be another Hogsmeade weekend and I'd like for you to make it known you won't be going." Seeing the look of worry on Harry's face, Dumbledore continued, "We will have a much more visible protection force for this trip.  Please don't announce any plans you have and try not to wander around alone.  I do not think anything will happen in the Castle but any information you let slip will surely find its way out."

Harry agreed and walked out, drawn into the thoughts of how cursed his life seemed.  He just turned the corner when he was spun around and felt something warm and wet on his lips.  "Now that wasn't one of your best," Kari said frowning at him.

The depression he was slipping into suddenly faded and he said, "You've got to give me a chance to prepare.  How would I know it wasn't Moaning Myrtle?"

Kari's eyes got huge at his comment and she said, "Just for that I may make you kiss her before you get to me again."  She clasped his hand and led him down the hall.  "I take it you didn't get good news."

Harry shrugged and said, "Well just that a schedule of all my activities was found on a captured Death Eater and now I can't leave school grounds."

Without interrupting their walk she said, "Then we'll just have to make sure we have fun on school grounds."

Even with Kari's attitude about everything, the almost daily attacks began to wear heavily on Harry and his mood darkened.  He tried his best to be as up-beat as he could, especially around Kari and his friends but he couldn't hide everything.  Sitting by the lake one afternoon with Kari he exclaimed, "I should be out there doing something."

"Get a grip Potter," Kari firmly said.  "Do you have a plan?"  Harry shook his head in exasperation.  "So, until you have one what could you do?" After a pause she added, "If you and Professor Dumbledore had a plan, I'd support you going off tomorrow.  I wouldn't be happy but I'd support you."  Harry just looked at her with a stunned expression.  "But," she firmly added, "if you think I'm going to let you do something stupid without a plan, you're sorely mistaken."

"I know," he admitted.  "It just gets to me."

"Well then," she teased, "let's see if we can take your mind off of it."  Harry leaned in to kiss her but she said, "Hey!  I meant we should practice defense."

Harry immediately felt bad but then was suddenly pounced on as Kari said, "But your idea is much better."

A few days later a note was on Harry's nightstand when he woke.

**Hagrid's after supper**

'A simple please would be nice,' Harry joked to himself.  He assumed it was from Sirius and would show up no matter how the note had been written. 

The Headmaster was not at supper that evening so Harry was even more anxious to meet his Godfather.  As soon as he finished eating, he excused himself, telling his friends that he was meeting Sirius and would be back early.

"We'll come with you," Ron quickly offered.

Hermione must have seen the strain on Harry's face because she quickly said, "Sirius would have invited us all if he wanted us there.  Besides, we really need to review your Charms work."

Harry was grateful to her for her understanding and he left the Hall, giving a wave to Kari who he had already told about the meeting.  Entering the hut, Harry was surprised to see not only Sirius but Remus and Professor Dumbledore as well.

"Ah you made it," Professor Dumbledore said.

"What's going on?" Harry asked looking at his Godfather.

Sirius didn't look entirely comfortable and before he could say anything, Professor Dumbledore continued, "There is someone we'd like you to meet Harry."

Harry turned and out from the darkened back room stepped a man who had occupied Harry's dream vision once before.  Those pitch-black eyes couldn't quickly be forgotten.  "You!" Harry exclaimed startling Sirius and Remus.  Professor Dumbledore just watched the exchange.  "You were dealing with Voldemort!  He's going to give the Tome of Renaul to Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed not taking his eyes off the man he recognized as the Vampire who was in the vision.

"Harry," Dumbledore calmly said but was interrupted by Sirius bellowing, "You had a vision and you," he turned to Dumbledore, "didn't tell me!"

Dumbledore swiftly said, "You were gone at the time and Harry dealt with it.  It didn't matter for your mission."

Harry didn't take his eyes off the Vampire and when the man stepped closer, Harry was surprised as a slight wave of comfort came over him.  The man stood just out of arms reach and studied Harry closely.  "You feel it don't you?" the man asked in a thick eastern European accent.

Before Harry could answer Professor Dumbledore said, "Harry meet Altair Sinclair, the head of the largest Vampire clan in Europe."

"He's dealing with Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed not taking the hand extended to him.

"No Harry, he's not," Dumbledore softly said.

"But the book?" Harry questioned.

"This book," Dumbledore said showing Harry a thick, obviously ancient book.  "Altair has graciously let me borrow it."

"You were right Albus," the Vampire calmly said, "he is full of surprises."

"You're on our side?" Harry asked, watching the Vampire closely.

"Yes," the man answered.  "It is a pleasure to meet you Harry Potter," he said extending his hand again.  This time Harry shook it and felt even more comforted.  "Lord Voldemort has not given up on us yet but I assure you, he will not have our aid."

"Harry," Sirius said getting his attention, "Professor Dumbledore told us the rest of what happened in the Veil and what he thinks it means."  Harry could see the pained expression on his Godfather's face.  "Altair has suspected the connection since Voldemort first attacked you.  Vampires have strong connections to both living and non-living beings."

Harry now turned towards the Vampire again.  "We've always known Voldemort wasn't truly dead.  He had moved around many times before his return.  But even now, his living being is struggling to overcome the part that was lost.  You however," he said looking at Harry very closely, "don't seem to be fighting the part you lost.  I can feel no conflict."

"I just found out didn't I," Harry said trying to figure out what it meant.  "I've never felt any different."

"Don't dwell on it Harry," Dumbledore said, "It is just a part of who you are."  After a moment of silence he added, "Voldemort is not pursuing this lone track to gain some advantage.  He is seeking other relics and information to increase his power."

"Well that's not news," Harry said somewhat annoyed that it was even being said.

Sirius laughed but Remus said, "Harry.  We're trying to keep you informed."

"Could you work with my kind?" Altair firmly asked, staring as if boring a hole through the boy.

Harry couldn't understand the feeling of comfort he got from the man but didn't have any real issues working with Vampires.  "Sure.  If you're against Voldemort what's the problem?"

Altair cocked his head but Dumbledore said, "Didn't I say prejudice had not yet tarnished him?"  Turning to Harry he said, "Harry, many in our world would not join forces with the Vampires, even as a last resort."

"But why?  If we're on the same side I don't see what the big deal is."

"The problem is history," Altair swiftly said.  "Vampires have killed and in some cases still kill.  Both Wizards and non-Wizards."  Harry should have realized this he thought.  "It is our nature and necessity.  Alternatives help but cannot replace everything."

"Some Wizards kill as well," Harry firmly replied drawing appraising looks from the others in the room.  "Muggles kill.  We need to work together and then when this is over maybe things won't be so bad between us."

"That," Dumbledore said, "is an admirable goal.  Now Harry, we don't want to keep you any longer.  We just wanted you to meet Altair and see if you would accept any help they offer."

"Of course, but why does it matter what I want?  If you three trust him, that's good enough for me," Harry said.

"It is not good enough," Dumbledore firmly replied.  "In the end, we are merely playing supporting roles in this struggle.  Each day that goes by, your part becomes more obvious."

"But I'll be right there with you," Sirius quickly added squeezing Harry's shoulder.  "I'll walk you back to the castle."

Harry said his goodbyes to the others as he and Sirius walked in the shadows towards the castle.  "I wish it didn't have to be you," Sirius said after walking in silence.

"Me too," Harry agreed.  "But you know," he added thinking, "In some ways it's easier than knowing I was dependent on someone else."

This statement obviously stunned Sirius and when Harry saw this he added, "Kari has a way of making me look at things differently.  She asked me how I would like it if some Hufflepuff was destined to kill him?  I'd go crazy wondering what they were doing."

Sirius shook his head and said, "She's ok, you know that?"  Harry just nodded.  "Take any help you can get Harry.  We'll get through this and then we'll make up for those years at the Dursleys."

"I'll hold you to that," Harry joked as the two stopped walking.  He saw Sirius look at him intently and asked, "What's up?"

After a moment where Sirius seemed to be thinking hard he said, "Listen Harry, this is kind of hard.  Remember when Molly said I only saw James in you?" Harry nodded, easily remembering that night.  "Well she wasn't far off."  Seeing the confusion in Harry's eyes he continued, "When I let myself see James in you, I think we're off on some grand adventure.  Sure it'll be dangerous but it's just like old times."  Harry genuinely smiled at this.  "But that's the problem," Sirius continued, "You're not James, you're only sixteen and when I think about that, I have a hard time dealing with the fact that you're in the middle of this."

"I'm not going to do anything stupid again," Harry quickly said, hoping to alleviate his Godfather's worry.  "I want to help."

"That's the thing Harry.  You won't just be helping.  It will be the rest of us helping you," Sirius said pacing.  "That Vampire knows it.  We all do.  Half the time I want to say 'Let's just go kick the sorry slug's arse and be done with him.'  But the other half wants to keep you out of this so you can try to enjoy yourself."

"You can't keep me out of this," Harry firmly said.  "Too much has happened for me to go back to that."

"I know," Sirius admitted and then sighed heavily.  "The Vampires aren't giving their support to the Ministry, Dumbledore or the Order.  They are supporting you.  With all the things happening, it's just getting too real and I can't pretend this is the Marauders off on some mission."

Harry knew this was bothering his Godfather because the man never really talked about things like this.  He wasn't sure he really bought the idea of the Vampires supporting him or not but Sirius obviously believed it.  "I can't be my dad but I don't see what's wrong with you thinking the Marauders are off doing something.  You three obviously enjoyed the time, why wouldn't I?"

"Because James died!" Sirius exclaimed.  "I'm supposed to keep you safe, not get you involved in even more danger."

"Don't be so serious, Sirius," Harry joked trying to lighten the mood.  "Isn't that what you kept telling me?  Don't think about keeping me safe; think about how we can win.  That's really the only way to keep us safe isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said.  "I don't know what's with me lately.  Maybe I just need to go find a nice poodle."  Seeing the look on Harry's face made Sirius chuckle.  "I guess you have to be an animagus to appreciate it."  After a pause he added, "You know, maybe we should work on that."

"What, getting a poodle?"

"No!  How about this summer we work on you joining the animal kingdom?" Sirius said suddenly very excited about the idea.

"Really?  We could do that?" Harry asked eagerly.  Sirius just nodded.  "Would Dumbledore say it's ok?"

Sirius' expression quickly changed and he said, "No reason he has to know…Unless you feel it's necessary…"

Now Harry smiled and said, "Not at all. That'll be brilliant."

The two said their goodbyes and Harry trudged back up to the castle thinking about what kind of animagus he might be.

For a while Harry was able to pretty much keep his emotions in check when the almost daily reports of attacks were reported.  Putting all his extra time into either practicing defense or walking with Kari kept his mood up.  One morning however, there had been a massive attack directly in Diagon Alley.  The place Harry had first been exposed to the wonders of the wizarding world had been the target of a large scale attack.  Seeing the moving pictures that showed smoke billowing from the rubble of some familiar stores ruined any good feelings he had. 

Harry heard others talking around him but it all sounded like mumbling as he focused on the pictures in front of him.  Finally looking up, he noticed many eyes in the room were on him. Scanning the tables, it seemed that students from every house seemed to be staring at him.  Finally pushed to the breaking point, Harry stood up and wanted to scream, 'What?  What do you all want from me?'  However, he was able to hold those comments to himself and instead of yelling, he ignored his friends asking him what was wrong and swiftly walked out of the room.

All Harry wanted to do was let off some steam.  The thoughts that he kept pushing down were now flooding to the top.  'This can't go on much longer,' he thought as he opened the door to the Room of Requirement.  However, instead of finding the room setup where he could spar, he saw a totally empty room with the Headmaster standing just inside.

"You've kept that in check quite well until now," Dumbledore softly said.

"How?..." Harry started to ask.

"We are not that different," Dumbledore swiftly said.  "Take a walk with me," Dumbledore said and then stepped out of the room.  Without even thinking, Harry followed the man in silence. 

Even at this time of day there were usually students in the corridors but it didn't register to Harry that they didn't seen another sole.  After taking a few turns and stepping through a door, Harry realized there shouldn't be any castle here.  His expression was caught by the Headmaster.  "Wondering why this doesn't show up on that wonderful map of yours?"  Harry nodded.  "There are parts of the castle that no student has visited in many years.  This being one of them."

Harry looked around and even though the surrounding seemed dark and dreary, Harry felt a strange comfort from the area.  "As you know, the castle is very old.  In those years there have been many wondrous things accomplished here.  However, there have also been horrors committed that should have never been allowed to take place."

Harry couldn't imagine anything terrible happening in the castle but then thought that the Heir of Slytherin had a chamber with a 60 foot basilisk in it.  "Hermione's never mentioned anything like that happening."

"Ah yes," Dumbledore said, "That's the trouble with history isn't it.  Someone has to record the details.  It is all too easy for us to simply sweep events under the rug so to speak."  Harry could see the Headmaster was thinking hard about something. "Would you mind trying something for me?" 

Finally paying attention to the Headmaster, Harry noticed the man looking at him intently.  "Of course sir," Harry quickly said.

"Can you picture someone who loves you?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Even though Harry thought this odd, he swiftly thought of Sirius and nodded.  "You must know they love you.  Are you sure?"

It didn't take any time for Harry to say, "I'm sure."

"Good," the Headmaster said and then produced the Tome of Renaul, opened it to a page and held it out to Harry.  "Memorize this spell and then while focusing on someone you know loves you say it.  Do not lose your focus."

After studying the ancient text for a moment, Harry thought about Sirius and said the spell.  A white cloud formed at the tip of his wand and then circled the two men for a moment.  Suddenly Harry could see shapes of figures moving just beyond the cloud.

The walls that only moments ago seemed so barren now pulsed with color and movement.  Figures moving in and out of Harry's visible range seemed so different and yet familiar.  At the same time, Harry felt both repulsed by their shapes and yet drawn to the hollow looks in their eyes. Some seemed to be reaching for him and just as he was about to reach back the Headmaster said a spell and the cloud vanished, leaving the two alone in the hall.

"What was that?" Harry asked, still looking around.

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Tormented souls.  Victims.  Usually of horrific crimes." 

The old man seemed lost in thought until Harry asked, "Why did I feel comfortable around the Vampire?  And in this place?"

"Your trip into the Veil gave us the key," Dumbledore said looking intently at the boy.  "Altair mentioned feeling the connection to Voldemort and we wanted to see if it would be the same with you.  If a part of you is really in the Veil it gives you a small link into their world."

"But why is Voldemort struggling with this and I don't even notice?"

"Because you are nothing like him," Dumbledore said.  "Voldemort seeks to control, even dominate everything and everyone so he struggles with the parts he knows exists but cannot rule."  After a pause the man said, "You however are accepting of things.  You are comfortable with many different forms.  It is not a struggle for you."

"But how will this help me?"

"It will make all the difference in the world Harry," Dumbledore firmly said.  "Voldemort can never wield as much power via domination as you can through cooperation."  The two stood in silence until Dumbledore said, "You have something Voldemort could never have and doesn't understand.  People follow him out of fear and hate.  People choose to help and follow you out of love and respect.  Yours will always be the more powerful.

"I would like to discuss a course of action with you," Dumbledore said getting Harry's full attention.  "I have been most torn with this decision," the man admitted.  "On many levels I feel it is far too soon, but when I put my personal feelings aside I realize that if it was anyone other than you I would take the chance."  The man studied Harry and then went on to explain his plan to the boy.

"And you think they'd help?" Harry asked after letting the information sink in.

"Not exactly help," Dumbledore said.  "But I believe you would be safe from them with certain precautions.  And you would still have the escape route."

Harry nodded and firmly said, "Ok, let's do it."

"Very well Harry," the old man said.  "I will take care of the details but you need to do your part.  We will monitor things to know if you are successful or not."

The two started walking back with Harry thinking about what the Headmaster had said.  He didn't want people to follow him, feeling that would only get more people killed.  Even though the thought lifted him greatly on many levels, he still would rather no one else be in harms way because of him.

Harry stopped by his dorm to pick up an object before heading back to the Great Hall.  Once Kari saw him approaching, she left the group of friends and hurried over to him.  "Is everything ok?  The Headmaster left just after you did."

Harry smiled and then speaking a bit louder than necessary he said, "Everything's fine.  Great actually.  C'mon, I've got to tell you."  Before she could question why he was not whispering he held up a finger and then led her down the corridor, just inside one of the doorways.  Taking out the parchment he whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."  Touching the parchment, the lines quickly formed and Harry scanned the immediate area for the dot he hoped to see.  Kari looked confused until a small dot came close labeled 'Draco Malfoy'.

Harry smiled and then said, "Dumbledore gave me some really good news."  Seeing the dot stop not far away, Kari realized what Harry was doing.  "The Vampires are going to join our side."

Kari didn't have to fake surprise at this as she exclaimed, "Vampires!  They can't be trusted."

Nodding that they could Harry said, "They can and they're going to give us something that can kill Voldemort."  Harry thought he heard shuffling and could imagine Draco straining to hear the details.  Kari looked confused but Harry nodded to show he was serious.

"They will only deal with Remus Lupin since he's…you know a werewolf," Harry said.  "He's going to meet their leader in a couple weeks at some graveyard in Wales called Ballemore.  The night of the last Quidditch match.  That'll give him an excuse to be at the school and then he'll leave just before dusk."

"What are they going to give him?" Kari asked, not having to fake being curious.

"Some book of ancient spells," Harry said and then firmly added, "You can't tell anybody.  If Voldemort found out he'd kill Remus and then if he got that book…well I don't want to think what would happen."

"I won't say anything," the girl said and then they saw the dot move off.

Now Harry leaned in and whispered, "C'mon let's go someplace we can talk."  The two took the secret passage to the kitchens and Harry told the girl the full story.  She sat in silence once Harry finished.  "He told me not to tell anybody but I'm not going to keep anything from you."

Kari tried to smile in appreciation but was finding it hard at the moment.  "Are you ok with this?" Harry tentatively asked.

"I guess it is a real plan," she slowly said.  "And I said I'd support you but it's just so soon.  I kind of figured we had a few years."

"It could work and there's a way out," Harry pleaded.

"I know," she admitted.  "No heroics though," she firmly said looking at him.  "If it goes to pieces, you use the way out."

"I promise," he said squeezing her hand.

Later that night, Harry found Ron and Hermione studying in the Library and joined their table.  "Harry," Hermione said, "not off with Kari tonight?"

Listening closely, Harry heard footsteps a few rows over so he said, "I told her I needed to tell you guys something.  Some big news."

"Really?" Ron questioned but Hermione quickly said, "Maybe we should go someplace more private."

"No one's around," Harry said glancing around.  He then proceeded to tell them the same story he told Kari in the hall earlier and Harry was sure he saw a green robe dash out of the Library when he was done.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded, "You should have waited until we were in the Common Room at least.  What if someone overheard?"

"Other than you two, everyone is out having fun," Harry said but saw that Hermione was still irritated.  "I guess you're right but no one was here."

Back in the Common Room later, the three discussed Remus meeting the Vampires and Harry felt slightly guilty for not telling them the real plan but couldn't take the chance on Ron blurting something out if the two got into another argument.

After his talk with the Headmaster and Kari, Harry surprisingly felt calmer than he had the past couple weeks, even though today was the final Quidditch match of the season and would decide which house took the coveted Hogwarts Quidditch Cup.  It seemed like such a normal, everyday event and it took his mind off of the other things that were going on at the moment.  The team was in the training room just before the match and Harry was actually feeling more relaxed than he would have expected with what was going to happen soon.

"If we win or lose by less than 100 points, we've got the cup," Ron nervously said.

"We won't lose!" Harry exclaimed.

"You didn't see their last match Harry.  She's gotten really good," Ron said as the team was talking about how much better Cho had gotten this year.

"He's right Harry," Ginny said.  "It's like she's on a mission to beat you this year.  And…" Ginny continued, "she's studied our last match so she knows how we walked on the Slytherins."

Slightly chuckling Harry said, "That's what I'm counting on."  Seeing their confused looks he continued, "Listen.  You Chasers just do the same play we used against the Slytherins."

"But Harry," Ginny exclaimed, "she saw that.  She's bound to have them prepared."

"I know,' Harry said smiling, "Trust me.  Don't do any other play until we're down by 50 points.  They'll think that's all we know."  Now the team was listening intently.  "Once we're down by 50 points, we'll change to the new plays that no one's seen before. "

"Let's just use the new ones from the start," Ron suggested.

Harry was about to respond when Ginny said, "No!  Let them get overconfident and then we'll stick it to them.  It'll take them awhile to figure out what we've done and by then we'll have made up the 50 points easily.  Then they'll wonder what we're up to."

"Exactly!" Harry exclaimed and then turned to Ginny.  "It's your call when we switch to the new plays."  Harry saw the look of indecision on her face and continued, "You remember the signs don't you?"  She nodded and then he raised an eyebrow and said, "All of them?"  With a sly grin she nodded again.

"Ok team," Harry confidently said, "If we win this, we've got the cup."

"Or lose by less than 100," Ron added.

Harry scowled and firmly said, "We won't lose!"

The team flew out and Cho waited for Harry in the middle of the pitch.  "Good luck Cho," Harry honestly said when he reached the pretty seventh year girl.

"You too Harry," she replied in an obviously fake pleasant voice.  "It's my last chance to beat you."

"My team says there's a good chance you will," he replied.

"So they've been scouting me," she said smiling.  "I take that as a compliment.  Either way, no hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings," Harry said and then the two went back to their own teams.

The match started quickly and it was clear to Harry that Cho had indeed gotten better and more confident.  Instead of solely marking him as she had done in previous years, she was searching for the snitch on her own and only occasionally keeping tabs on where he was.  By the time Harry was aware that she was playing her own match, Gryffindor was down 30-0.

Acting like he was bothered by this, Harry flew to the Chasers and then to the Keeper, seeming to scold them but this only fueled the Ravenclaws to think they had correctly analyzed their opponents.  Suddenly, Harry caught a flash of gold and zipped off in the direction.  Without warning, a dark blur came from above him and got into his path to the golden winged ball.  Cho had seen the same thing and had been in a better position to grab the snitch.  Gryffindor strategy wouldn't help now and with Harry trailing, if Cho reached the snitch first, Ravenclaw would with the match and in turn the Quidditch Cup.

Just as Cho swerved to follow the dashing ball, Kirk directed a bludger that hit a Ravenclaw Chaser causing the boy to collide with Cho sending her swerving off course.  After the two seekers recovered from the distraction, neither of them saw any sign of the golden object.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Harry re-doubled his efforts to find the snitch and end this instead of playing around.  Hearing a huge roar from the Gryffindor side Harry turned to see Ginny grinning widely and the Ravenclaw chasers looking a bit confused.  Ginny raised a signal to Harry and he knew she started using the new plays.  It didn't take long for another loud roar to come from the Gryffindor side and this lifted Harry's spirits.

After a few more Gryffindor goals, Harry saw that Cho's confident flying was failing a bit and she began marking him closely.  'Going back to her old self,' Harry thought.  Harry had just circled the Ravenclaw goals and was heading back towards the center of the pitch when he turned to see if Cho was there and spotted the snitch near the ground back by the Ravenclaw goal. 

Trying to make sure Cho didn't have a chance to see it, Harry took off, top speed towards the Gryffindor end and sure enough Cho put on a burst of speed and was tailing him closely.  Looking up, Harry saw the Gryffindor Chasers flying in formation on a scoring run.  Holding up his hand with two fingers extended, he saw Ginny's eyes bulge out but then she focused and put on a look of determination as she flew directly towards Harry and Cho.

When Cho saw the speeding Chaser on a collision course, she pulled up slightly at the last second to avoid contact.  Harry however thrust out his left arm just as Ginny did the same, passing on his left side.  The two teammates linked arms and twirled around in a circle a couple times before letting go, both with much of their speed intact and heading in the opposite direction they had been.

When Cho looked to her left expecting to see Harry still going for the snitch, she was met with Ginny Weasley's look of triumph.  When Cho realized what happened, Harry had already reached the Ravenclaw goal and had just clamped his hand around the snitch, winning the match.

"He ended up being a pretty good captain.  Don't you think?" Ginny said while Cho was still in a daze from what had just happened.  Without waiting for an answer, Ginny zoomed to where Harry had landed.

Ron had beaten her to the ground and yelled, "What the bloody hell was that?"

"Oh just something Ginny and I'd been working on," Harry said as Ginny hugged him.  "You were brilliant!" he yelled when she let go.

"I hoped we would get to use one of those," she said.  "You should have seen her face when she realized it was me flying next to her."

"How did you two come up with that?" Ron asked above the other congratulations.

"Harry and I have been practicing," Ginny beamed.  "I may have to take up seeking again once you two are gone."

After showering, Harry had only slightly come down from the excitement he was feeling so he didn't notice Kari seeming a bit down when he hugged her.  "I wish you could come to our celebration."

She snorted a bit and said, "A bunch of fired-up Gryffindors would probably try to burn me at the stake."  After taking his hand she asked, "Still going through with this?"

Looking around to make sure no one could hear them talk he said, "It's our best chance.  It'll be ok."

"It better be," she firmly said.  "I haven't put up with your Gryffindor nonsense for this long to have you go do something stupid."

"C'mon," Harry said leading the girl towards the lake.  "Let's take a walk.  I can be late to the celebration."

The celebration was in full swing when Harry finally arrived in the Common Room and after quite a few minutes of listening to play-by-play commentary from Ron on how the match went, Harry snuck over to where Hermione was sitting in the corner.  "That's two in a row for him," Harry said sitting across from the girl.

"Yes, that's all I heard on the way up," Hermione said smiling as she watched the redhead conversing animatedly with the other boys.  "You've been a bit distant the last week, is everything ok?" she asked, now looking at Harry.

"Oh, I'm fine," he said and saw her raise her eyebrows.  "So much is happening.  I know you guys don't even tell me about all the attacks."  The girl looked slightly surprised that Harry knew they had kept some of the stories away from him.  "It's ok," he quickly said.  "I know you'd tell me if you thought I needed to know."

"You've really changed a lot since last year," Hermione said but Harry didn't know how to take it and it must have shown.  "That's not a bad thing," she quickly said.  "I guess Ron's changed as well."  Just then Ron snorted at something funny and shot butterbeer all over Seamus.  "Well maybe he hasn't that much," Hermione said with a scowl.

Harry smiled and said, "I don't think some things about him will ever change."  Hermione smiled a bit at this.  After a moment of silence Harry said, "You know I'm really glad you two got together.  You both deserve to be happy."

Hermione studied him closely and said, "Thank you Harry.  You do as well you know."

Before Harry could reply Ron stepped up and said, "Oi mate!  Let's go eat.  That match really took it out of me."

"Sleeping takes it out of you Ron," Hermione joked clasping his hand.  "But I guess it is about time for supper."

Harry sighed knowing what was about to happen.  "You guys go ahead, I'm going to wish Remus good luck and then I'm going to meet Kari."

They both grimaced but Ron said, "We can come with you."

"Nah, that's ok," Harry replied.  "Don't want it to be too obvious.  I'll see you at supper."  Harry headed out of the common room and straight to the Hospital Wing where the other participants of the plan were waiting.

A short time later, Ron and Hermione arrived in the Great Hall and sat next to Ginny.  It only took a minute for Hermione to notice something she didn't expect to see.  "Ron," Hermione said, "Didn't Harry say he was going to meet Kari?"  Ron nodded.  "Well she's here and doesn't look very happy."

Ginny's head snapped up to look at the girl and Ron glanced up as well.  "Wonder what happened?" Ron asked before biting into a roll.

Hermione continued to glance at the Slytherin and noticed she wasn't talking to her friends like normal and was only pushing food around on her plate.  The next time Hermione looked over; Kari seemed to be holding back tears and stood up before almost running out of the Great Hall.  Before saying anything, Hermione glanced to the teacher's table and noticed that the Headmaster was missing and Professor McGonagall looked worried about something.

"Something's up Ron," Hermione firmly said.  "Did you see Kari run out?"

Ron shook his head but Ginny cheerfully said, "She didn't look happy did she?  Wonder if they had a fight?"

"Maybe," Hermione said.  "But I wonder where Harry's at. I think we should go find him."

"But Hermione," Ron started but was cut off.  "That's a good idea Hermione," Ginny said with a sly look in her eye.  "We should go make sure he's ok."

Hermione knew what the younger girl was doing but her concern for Harry won out and the three headed out of the Great Hall.  "How will we find him?" Hermione asked.

"The map of course," Ron said.  "I'll get it out of his trunk." 

The three ran up to the now deserted Common Room.  Hermione followed Ron up but Ginny seemed hesitant.  "C'mon Ginny," Hermione called when she noticed the girl had stopped.

Ginny looked around once she slowly stepped through the door.  Ron was already pulling things out of Harry's trunk.  Ginny noticed a picture on the dresser next to Harry's bed and picked it up.  It showed a man who was obviously Harry's dad and a woman with long hair next to him.  The two were waving at her with bright smiles.  Ginny smiled looking at Harry's belongings.  His bed was so neat and the pictures were carefully set on his dresser.

"Got it," Ron's call startled her and she sat the picture back down.

"Ok, most everyone's still in the Great Hall," he said scanning the parchment.  "Hmmm.nope…"

"Wait," Hermione said, "There's Kari?  Where's she heading?"

They watched for just a moment before Hermione said, "Hospital Wing?  Why's she going there?"

"Do you think Harry was hurt?" Ginny questioned.

"What are they doing here?" Ron exclaimed.  "Look! Professor Dumbledore… Sirius… Tonks…Bill… Mom… Professor Lupin!'

"I thought he went to meet the Vampire?" Hermione questioned.

"Vampire!" Ginny exclaimed.  "What's going on?"

"That's what I want to know," Ron said standing up.  "Why are Bill and Mom here?   And where is Harry?"  Ron wiped the parchment and put it back in Harry's trunk.  "I'm going up there."

"Maybe we're not supposed to know," Hermione said.

"Too bad," Ginny exclaimed.  "Something's going on and I want to know what."  With that the girl bolted out of the door with the two older students hot on her tail.

Just before the three turned the last corner heading to the Hospital Wing, a figure appeared in front of them.  "Well well well, what do we have here?  Three Gryffindors skipping out of supper.  For what reason?"

All three of them groaned at the sight of their least favorite professor.  Hermione calmly said, "We're on our way to the Hospital Wing Professor."

"Really?" the man sneered.  "What has Potter done now?"

"We don't know where Harry is," Ron snapped, "but my mom and brother are in there."

Before Snape could say anything Ginny added, "So's Professor Lupin, Sirius and the Headmaster."

"And Tonks," Ron added.

Snape did look confused but still said, "I assure you that your family is not in the castle Weasley.  And I am most confident that that mangy mongrel and werewolf aren't around either."

"They really are there Professor," Hermione said hoping Ron wouldn't do something stupid.

"Now how would you know that if you haven't made it to the Hospital yet?" Snape asked.

While they were thinking of an excuse other than divulging the Marauder's Map, Peeves appeared and blew a raspberry at the Potions Master diverting his attention for a moment.  This was all the three needed as they bolted the final few steps, ignoring Snape's calls to stop and crashed through the doors of the infirmary.

They stopped a few steps inside and stared at the sight.  There were four beds arranged closely together with Mrs. Weasley, Harry, Sirius and Professor Dumbledore lying in them.  Bill and Tonks both had their wands trained on the intruders and Kari sat off to the side looking like she was very close to a breakdown.

"What's going on here?" Ron bellowed.

Just then the doors flew open again and Snape roared, "You've done it now…."  Then the man took in the sight of the other people in the room and demanded, "What is going on here?"

The Headmaster leaned up slightly and said, "Do you all know what is happening?"

Hermione said, "Professor Lupin is going to get some book from a Vampire."  Ron and Ginny nodded.  Professor Snape only looked confused.

Professor Dumbledore looked directly at her and asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes.  That's all Harry said," Hermione said and then turned to the bed that Harry occupied.  "Tell them Harry."

Harry didn't say anything and looked a bit guilty.

Only a moment later, the doors flew open and a very angry looking Professor McGonagall came in dragging a confused Draco Malfoy through the door.  "You'll be able to hear better in here Mr. Malfoy.  No need to keep your ear against the door."

The Headmaster sighed and said, "Minerva your wand please."  After taking the woman's wand he said a spell and pointed at the doors to the Infirmary.  Instantly, huge bars crossed the doors.  "No one leaves until this is finished," he said before handing the wand back to Professor McGonagall.   "Nymphadora," he said nodding to the young Slytherin.

Instantly, Draco's wand sailed into the Auror's hand.  "Just to make sure you don't cause any trouble."

"What's going on here?" Snape demanded.

Before anyone could answer, the four occupants on the beds all seemed to suck in a breath and their eyes flashed wide open.  "It has begun," Dumbledore said.  "Conserve your energy."

"What was that?" Sirius asked.

"Fear," Dumbledore softly said.


	17. It Ends Here

 - - - Author Notes

This is a short chapter 4,300 or so words because going any further needs to have the final chapter as well.  This was a good breaking point.  The next/final chapter is more than double this size.

Zaraky: What do you mean no faults?  She's a Slytherin!  (kidding)   I had originally written this to be Blaise Zabini instead of a new character but didn't want all the flack of Blaise is a boy name so I switched to Kari.

- - - -  End notes

Remus Lupin paced along the edge of the graveyard watching the sky.  It was now dusk and the person he was meeting should show up any time now.  The next time the man turned around, he flinched in surprise by the figure of Altair Sinclair standing not two meters from him.  "Did you bring it?" Remus quickly asked.

"Of course," the Vampire said producing an ancient book and handing it to the Wizard.  "This cannot fall into the wrong hands."

"It won't," Lupin said as he began to thumb through the book.

"Hand the book over werewolf," a voice demanded almost as soon as Remus opened the book.

When the men snapped to where the voice came from, they found themselves looking at a dozen cloaked and masked figures with two standing in front of the others.  "Let's just take it from the foul creatures," an evil female voice said.

"Now Bella," Lucius Malfoy firmly said.  "You can have your fun in a moment.  And before you even consider it Lupin, apparation will be impossible for the next few hours.  Our Master wanted to make sure we had enough time to thoroughly enjoy ourselves."

"I'll destroy it," Lupin said pointing his wand at the book, trying to keep his true emotion from showing.

Bella hissed but Lucius calmly said, "This isn't like the prophecy.  We'll save the book before it is totally destroyed."

"Where is your Master," Altair calmly asked.

"Ah Vampire," Lucius spat.  "I expected much more of you.  You've signed the death sentence for your people."

"We don't fear final death.  And it will be your Master's fate as well," the Vampire simply said.

"You dare!" Bella exclaimed and sent a curse at the Vampire who moved so fast Lupin only saw a blur.

"Bella!" Lucius scolded.  "There will be time for that. I must admit that I am glad it's you Lupin.  The Dark Lord won't allow us to kill Potter but taking those close to him will be good enough.  Getting your head in the mail should be a nice topper to last year."

"Was your master afraid to come himself?" Altair coldly asked drawing hisses from the hooded figures.

"You I can kill," Lucius said raising his wand.

"Now now Lucius," a cold voice said appearing out of thin air.  "I've been told he is a great leader so I'm interested in what reason he could give for sending his clan to their defeat."

Back in the Hospital Wing, the four occupants seemed to visibly grow in stature.  "Oh my!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.  Each of the four felt a great surge deep within them.

"What happened mom?" Ginny asked standing next to the woman.

When the woman didn't answer Dumbledore said, "That my friends is what makes Harry truly remarkable.  I do believe Voldemort has just shown himself."

"That didn't feel like fear," Sirius said quickly.

"And it wasn't," Dumbledore said.  "I would say the closest word would be determination.  Focused, unwavering determination.  Harry posses it in excess."

"What has this got to do with Harry?  He's right here?" Ron bellowed.

Hermione looked at Harry on the table and then back to Ron.  "The map…" she started to say but caught herself.

Hermione's eyes got huge as her hand went to cover her mouth, but Ron still looked confused.  Before Hermione could answer Kari stood up and yelled, "That's not Harry!  Harry's gone to kill Voldemort."  Finally breaking down, the girl was quickly hugged by Tonks, who nodded in agreement to Hermione.

"Will someone explain to me what's going on?" Ron demanded.

Snape roared, "And why don't you have your wands?"

On the edge of the graveyard, Altair Sinclair stood proudly in front of the Dark Lord and said, "A few sacrifices are meaningless.  Your time is nearly over.  The prophecy will be fulfilled."

Remus could see the Death Eaters looking at each other and Voldemort must have noticed as well.  "The prophecy is meaningless!" Voldemort bellowed.  With the slightest of wand movements, Voldemort sent a slicing curse at the Vampire and split him in two.

Averting his eyes from the gore next to him, Remus Lupin felt more determination than he could ever remember.  Dumbledore had told him that Altair fully expected to die and was prepared to do so but this didn't help the disgust he felt bubbling up.  Trying to focus on the bigger plan, he stood silently watching the Dark Lord take pleasure in the destruction of the Vampire.  "Now you werewolf," Voldemort coldly said.  "If only young Harry could be here to see this."

Suddenly Remus felt a curse approaching and with a smooth, fluid movement; he slashed his wand skyward, sending the curse back towards Bellatrix.  The evil woman had to quickly move to get out of the way. 

While his attention was towards the woman, he missed a man transforming from a rat just off to his other side.  It wasn't until he felt a hand begin to close around his throat did he realize he had been setup.  Wrenching himself backwards, Lupin noticed the shocked expression on Wormtail's face and quickly fired off the strongest 'Reductor' curse he could.  The powerful curse struck the silver hand and sent pieces flying in all directions.

As blood began to flow from the stump, Peter Pettigrew stumbled with his voice, "That's impossible…Silver….."

Remus was just about to send another curse when he caught Voldemort's slight movement and he conjured the most powerful shield he could just in time to deflect the curse from the evil Wizard.

"Well, well, yet another surprise," Voldemort said studying Remus closely.  "Lucius, Bella, other faithful; we have been doubly blessed tonight.  First we will have the Tome of Renaul and second, Harry Potter himself is delivering it to us.  How much longer will it be Harry?"

The Death Eaters began mumbling and when Voldemort realized Remus wasn't going to answer he said, "We can wait Harry.  I don't want to kill you until I can see the life seep out of your own eyes.  The real werewolf will soon follow.  You've only bought him some time.  I wonder though, why the charade?"  After a moment Voldemort said, "Maybe I could have gotten the information out of the Vampire.  Patience is not one of my virtues."

The queasy feeling started and Harry knew he was changing back into himself.  If everything was timed correctly, Harry knew things were about to get very complicated. "Ah that is the face I've longed to kill," Voldemort said causing Bellatrix to laugh.

When Harry didn't make any movement or sound, Voldemort said 'Accio Book'.  Harry had a strong shield up before the Dark Lord finished his spell and the book barely quivered at all.  Dumbledore had stressed that Harry couldn't use any spell other than shields against Voldemort to make sure their wands didn't link again.

From the side, Lucius Malfoy sent a stunning hex thinking he could catch Harry off guard but Harry changed his shield to a localized one and instantly sent a slicing hex back at the man opening up a long cut on his leg.

Bellatrix made a move and Harry spun, prepared to defend himself from her attack but in that instant, the Dark Lord cried out 'Crucio!'

In the Hospital Wing, Ron had just demanded again to know what was going on.  Surprisingly someone else voiced the exact same thing.  "For once Weasley I concur.  What exactly has Potter gotten into now?"

The Headmaster didn't rise up but softly said, "Bill could you explain.  And thank our guest for his assistance."

"Of course sir," Bill Weasley said stepping closer.  "First off we should thank the person responsible for setting this meeting up."  The man turned towards Draco and said, "Without your help Draco, this opportunity would not have presented itself."

"What?" Draco spat back.  "I haven't done anything to Potter."

With a cold laugh Bill said, "True.  How does it feel to be played?"  The look of confusion on the Slytherin's face said it all.  "That's right Draco.  It was a setup.  Do you really think Harry is stupid enough to talk about real plans out in the open where traitors could overhear?"

Snape looked between the two in confusion but it was Draco who asked, "So Professor Lupin's not meeting the Vampire?"

Harry slightly rose up from his hospital bed and said, "That's right Mr. Malfoy.  I'm not."

"Professor?" Ron asked.

"The map doesn't lie Ron," Harry said before laying back down.

"You can't be serious. The boy won't last a minute." Snape coldly said.

"We are betting he will," Bill firmly said and then noticed Remus Lupin was back to himself.  "Welcome back Remus."

"I'm sure Voldemort already knew," Professor Dumbledore softly said.  "Be prepared for anything."

"Why did I not know of this?" Snape demanded, looking furious.  "And what are you four doing in bed?"

"Harry doesn't trust you!" Kari spat out at her head of house. 

Before Snape could say anything Bill said, "Harry refused to go along with the plan if you learned anything about it.  He really doesn't trust you."

"Why should he trust you?" Draco questioned and then suddenly realized the real situation.  "You're a spy!  Filthy traitor.  Wait 'til my father hears."

"You won't remember any of this anyway," Snape calmly said.  "Besides, you led the Dark Lord into a trap.  If he doesn't kill Potter you'll be at the top of his list."  Draco paled noticeably.  "Not that Potter has any chance of surviving," Snape added shaking his head.  "You'll finally see the Prophecy was all a fairy tale!"

As many heads in the room snapped to the man, the people in the bed all arched their backs in obvious pain.  Molly Weasley cried out but the others kept the screams suppressed. "Mom!" both Ron and Ginny said and then Ginny turned to Bill.  "What's happening to her?"

Bill grimaced and said, "They're taking some of Harry's pain.  That's why they're here."  The four dropped back onto the bed breathing heavily.

"How much do they take?" Hermione asked watching the others trying to recover.

"Hopefully one fourth in total," Dumbledore said.

"Then H…H…Harry's are worse?" Ron asked gulping a bit.

"Undoubtedly," Dumbledore replied.

"The Prophecy's about Harry and Voldemort isn't it?" Hermione questioned.  "That's why he wanted it so bad."

"Of course it's about Harry and Voldemort!" Kari exclaimed jumping up.  "Merlin how hard is this to figure out.  Harry is the only one who can stop him!"

After a moment of silence Ginny turned to her brother and asked, "Is it true?...Bill?"

Looking very sad Bill said, "I'm afraid so GinGin.  It all comes down to him."

"Harrumph," Snape threw in.

"You're kidding?" Draco sneered.  "Potter defeating the Dark Lord."  Ron stepped toward the boy but Draco didn't back down.  "C'mon Weasel.  Even you can't be stupid enough to buy that."  Ron couldn't stand the boy talking bad about his best friend but also couldn't imagine Harry defeating Voldemort by himself.

"So what's going on here?" Ron questioned.

"Voldemort has Harry's blood," Bill quickly said.  "Blood magic is the strongest there is."

"Almost the strongest," the Headmaster said while trying to catch his breath.  "Bonds of blood can and are occasionally broken.  However bonds of selfless love are never broken.  Bent maybe, but never broken.  The Tome of Renaul showed us how to tap into that magic.  We are now bound to Harry."

When the spell hit, Harry immediately recognized it and was prepared for the worst feeling of his life but the pain was noticeably reduced.  He still rolled around in agony but didn't cry out as he had after the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  Once the spell was lifted, Harry saw the book lying just out of reach and he quickly pulled it back in.  "You can't hold onto it forever Harry," Voldemort said causing Bellatrix to laugh again.

"As much fun as this has been," Voldemort said.  "You seem to have a knack for squirming out of tight spots so I'm afraid we'll have to say goodbye…Well maybe one more…'Crucio.'"

After a few more moments of writhing on the ground, the pain stopped again.  Harry really began to doubt the intelligence of their plan but suddenly he felt a slight, distant comforting feeling and realized the second part of the plan was about to happen.

"Any last words Harry?" Voldemort said stepping closer.

Harry pulled himself up onto his knees and said as firmly as he could, "I know the whole prophecy.  You're going to die tonight."

There was total silence as the Death Eaters didn't know what to say.  Even Voldemort seemed a bit taken aback by the statement.  "I will miss your bravado Harry," Voldemort hissed.  "But it is time for…."

His statement was cut off by yelling coming from the woods around the cemetery.  Dozens of Vampires began charging down the Death Eaters.  Voldemort actually looked frightened for a moment before yelling "Destroy them!"  Harry started to make a move for the book when he felt a curse just miss his head.

In that time, Voldemort summoned the book and said, "This is mine Har….."

When Harry felt the pull of the portkey he was linked to, the last thing he noticed was the shocked expression on Voldemort's face.  He took some pride in knowing the Dark Lord realized he was not completely in control.

The hospital beds bounced when the sensation of being portkeyed finished.  "What?" Ginny asked.  "What just happened?"

"I believe Harry and Voldemort have left the cemetery," Dumbledore said, the worry obvious in his voice.  "Focus on Harry," the old man commanded and then closed his eyes.

"Of course, everything's about the brat," Snape spat out.  "If this is what it takes for you all to realize he's nothing special than so be it."

"Harry's already twice the Wizard you'll ever be Snivellus", Sirius said.

Snape quickly raised his wand but Tonks was faster and disarmed the Potions Master before the man could stop her.  "I don't think you'll be needing this," Tonks said.

Snape was just about to protest when the four either cried out in pain or groaned loudly and grasped their left leg. "Shut up all of you!" Kari exclaimed.  "Harry needs you!"  Madame Pomphrey was already tending to the damage done to each person's leg.

After hitting the ground, Harry looked around to see tall weeds and what looked to be the remains of a destroyed building.  Before fully being aware of his surroundings, Harry's leg exploded with pain and he collapsed onto his side.  Looking at his left leg, Harry saw a bone protruding through the skin.  Instinctively he threw up a shield just as another blasting hex came his way.  "I don't know what you had planned boy," Voldemort roared, "but it matters not.  There's no one to help you."  Harry saw the book lying on the ground not far from him but before he could make a move towards it, Voldemort destroyed the ancient Tome in a ball of fire.

"Ha!" Harry tried to laugh through the pain, "You destroyed it!"

Voldemort growled in anger and said, "And you will be next.  There's no way out for you now."  With a quick slash, the man sent a powerful curse at Harry.  Surprising even himself, Harry's shield was able to deflect the curse.

Shuffling a bit, Harry tried to set up, hoping to defend himself better.  "You're going to die alone Harry.  No one's coming to your rescue this time."  After looking around Voldemort said, "I recognize this place.  How fitting…"  Now the evil Wizard stood directly above Harry and said, "This time you won't be so lucky."

Harry had tried to prepare himself for what he knew was coming but still hearing 'Avada Kedavra' from the Dark Lord's mouth, and seeing the green light streaking towards him was terrifying.  Without thinking, Harry threw up his left hand in a vain attempt to stop the curse, but to no avail.

Madame Pomphrey had just finished with Sirius' leg when the four's eyes snapped wide-open and they each thrust out their left hand, attempting to block an unseen curse.  A deep breath was taken by each of them as their arms were thrown back, bleeding profusely.  "Sweet Merlin," Madame Pomphrey said over the cries of the younger Weasleys as she went to work on her patients.

The first thing Harry recognized while he fought to regain consciousness, other than intense pain was hearing the loud, almost maniacal laughing. Barely opening his eyes, he saw a twisted smile on Lord Voldemort's face as the Wizard seemed to survey his body to make sure he was still whole.  Fighting to stay alert and moving as slowly as possible while the Dark Lord was busy examining his own body, Harry eased the grouping of four wands from the sleeve of his robe and held it in his bloody left hand.  Finally he inserted his own wand into the center of the grouping and with that motion, felt a slight bit of strength return to him.

Holding down a choke from the blood seeping from his mouth, Harry saw Voldemort give a final look at his wand and attempt to apparate. In this moment, Harry pushed himself against the wall and sat as upright as he could with the grouping of wands pointed at the spot the man just disappeared from.  As expected, Voldemort quickly reappeared looking quite confused.  Professor Dumbledore had already placed and anti-apparation barrier around the location.  "You can't leave Tom," Harry said with as much confidence as he could.

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Harry would have laughed at the look on Lord Voldemort's face.  The most evil Wizard in a century looked totally lost and confused.  That appearance didn't last long as rage took over the man.  "Why won't you die?" he roared.  "Well Bella's technique works as well," he spat and before Harry was ready, sent a slicing spell that tore through Harry's side.

Cursing himself for not being prepared, Harry tried to focus through the pain and began mumbling the spell he had prepared to use.  When the next slicing curse came, Harry felt it open up a long gash on his leg but after a brief grimace, he continued with the spell. 

Voldemort looked enraged and said, "It was good enough for the Vampire. You're friends will enjoy the sight of this.  Goodbye Harry."  Just as the man's hand was beginning its downward slash, a misty figure streaked from the rubble and ripped the flesh away from Voldemort's forearm.  Harry felt a strange surge deep inside him as the part of Voldemort was torn.  Another shadowy figure came from the ground and tore a chunk from the man's face and again Harry felt something deep within being replenished and a slight rush.  Voldemort screamed out in agony and started trying to curse the figures but missed each time.

Not fully prepared for what the spell had caused, Harry forgot about the warnings the Headmaster had given him and after seeing large chunks being ripped from Voldemort began to feel quite relieved and excited.  It wasn't until he felt a piece of his own arm being ripped away did he realized what was happening.  Three figures swooped in on Harry as he desperately tried to recall exactly what the Headmaster had said.  One of the figures barred large teeth and was just about to bite when Harry felt a warmth from his chest.  Looking down he saw something straining to burst through his shirt.  'The life-stone!' Harry thought.  'Kari!' snapped to his mind and then the words of Professor Dumbledore came through clear, 'You have the same blood Harry.  The victims will not stop with him.  You must show them a clear difference.  Feel something Voldemort cannot.'

Grabbing the life-stone, Harry focused on Kari and Sirius first. The figures still took swipes at him but their claws just missed his skin.  Continuing to think about Remus, Mrs. Weasley and even the Headmaster caused the forms to be kept even further back.  Now able to take in the surroundings again, Harry saw Voldemort was down on his knees swatting at the figures as more and more hunks of skin were torn away.

Harry watched as Voldemort eyes went wide and he mouthed something before falling to the ground, wand rolling out of his hand. When the ghostly forms stopped tearing pieces of Voldemort away, they circled around Harry with a hungry look in their hollow eyes.  With a final word, Harry ended the spell and the forms glittered slightly before vanishing. Without something to focus on, the pain he was in quickly hit hard and he slumped to the side spitting blood onto the ground.  Noticing the almost skeletal hand stretched out, Harry saw Voldemort's wand just beyond the fingers.  Trying to focus any strength he had left, Harry summoned the wand.  Even though his left hand wasn't closing all the way, Harry gripped the wand as tightly as he could just in case something else bad happened.

Barely able to focus with so much pain Harry thought, 'At least it's over.'  They hadn't planned on Voldemort destroying the book.  That was the emergency portkey back to the hospital wing.  As Harry drifted in and out of consciousness he felt strangely calm and whole.

It was chaos in the Hospital Wing as Tonks and Bill had joined Madame Pomphrey in attending to the patients.  The three worked quickly but only Professor Dumbledore remained conscious at all.  "Severus," the Headmaster groaned.  "Take the portkey and bring him back.  Quickly."

Tonks obviously didn't like this idea and said, "I don't think he should go."

"I assure you Nymphadora that even though I take no pleasure in rescuing Potter, I won't enjoy seeing him dead," Snape spat. 

"Just get him!" Kari exclaimed.

"Traitor," Draco coldly said.

Bill, Tonks and Kari instantly had their wands pointing at the man but only Bill hissed, "Get him now!"  Snape seemed stunned at the level of hatred directed toward him, retrieved his wand from Tonks, took the portkey from Dumbledore's bed and disappeared.

When Snape reappeared, it didn't take him long to know where this was.  It was actually a vision of a place that haunted his own dreams.  What he wasn't prepared to see was the mutilated body of the Dark Lord or the bloody body of Harry Potter, shredded leg pointing at an odd angle, and with what looked like a grouping of wands trained on him.  Ignoring the obvious injuries, the boy looked different and that look frightened the Potions Master.

"Get away!" Harry yelled with a wild gleam in his eyes.  "You can't have him!"

"Listen Potter," Snape said with all the venom he could muster at the time.

That was all he got out because Harry sent an extremely powerful blasting curse at the man.  Snape barely ducked to get out of the way as he felt the heat from the spell go by his head.  "You're nothing but a Death Eater!" Harry yelled almost glowing.  "I won't miss next time."

"I've come to take you back…" Snape started but then saw the wand tips start to glow so he re-activated the portkey and instantly appeared back in the Hospital Wing.

"Where's Harry?" Kari demanded.

"Severus?" Dumbledore weakly asked.

"He wouldn't come," Snape said and noticed Madame Pomphrey tending to Mrs. Weasley as the woman had just coughed up a good deal of blood.

"Told you it wasn't a good idea," Tonks exclaimed as she rubbed a gel on Lupin's arm.

"I'll go Headmaster," Professor McGonagall said as she stepped up.

"You must hurry Minerva," Dumbledore said as he dropped back onto the bed.

Before she could vanish, Professor Snape gave her a pained expression and said, "Prepare yourself."  Minerva knew not much really bothered the Potions Master and it caused her heart to drop just as she activated the portkey.  Her shock at the look in Harry's eyes as he had the wands trained on her must have shown because Harry dropped his arm solidly to the ground and instantly took on a frail, beaten look.

Holding down her sorrow for the young boy the Professor softly said, "Po…Harry.  We need to get you back to Hogwarts."

"I just want it to end," Harry said in a raspy voice and made no attempt to move.  "I don't want anymore…"

"Harry please," Professor McGonagall says stepping closer and getting a better glimpse at the torn flesh in his left side and the blood over his left hand.  "The others, they can't break the connection charm without you.  Molly isn't doing well."

"Mrs. Weasley!" Harry groaned.  "She's hurt?"

"She'll be ok if we get you back quickly."  She saw the lost look in his eyes as she got close and knew he couldn't last much longer. Harry made to rise but she shook her head, not counting on holding back her tears if she had to talk.  Placing the device on Harry's hand, she wrapped both of her hands around his and activated the portkey.

Kari pushed everyone aside as soon as Harry was placed onto the empty hospital bed.  "Oh no," she said looking at the damage.  "You can't…." 

Tonks pulled the girl back as Dumbledore painfully said, "Place their wands back into their hands."  Ron had his hand squeezing his mother's fingers around her wand.  Dumbledore said something and a blue light shot out of Harry's wand and then connected to the other four before returning to Harry's.  The four patients gasped deeply as the light vanished but Harry visibly weakened once the spell was done and Madame Pomphrey quickly began pouring a potion down his throat.

In only a minute, Sirius and Remus were sitting up and even Molly seemed noticeably better.  Dumbledore stood over the objections of Professor McGonagall and moved near Harry.  "How is he?" the old man asked, holding onto the bed for support.

"It's not good…." Madame Pomphrey said the concern evident in her voice as she worked frantically on her patient.

"My dear boy," Dumbledore sighed.

"No!" Kari cried trying to get out of Tonks' grip.  "You can't let him die!"

"Albus?" Sirius asked, now trying to stand.

After a few more minutes tears were even starting to come down Madame Pomphrey's face.  Getting slightly distraught she said, "It's too much…I don't think…"

That was as far as she got because Professor Dumbledore firmly moved her out of the way and commanded, "Harry Potter will NOT die today!"  After some swift wand movements and soft murmuring, a bright orange glow emanated from the old man's chest, growing into a large shimmering phoenix.  As soon as the form was clearly defined, a single solitary note was sounded and the glowing creature flew directly into Harry's chest. Harry visibly thrashed at the same time as the Headmaster collapsed onto the floor.


	18. Recovery, Understanding & Goodbye

Author Notes

Zaraky : I didn't take it critically, I was kidding. I actually agree with you. Kari isn't a full/fleshed out character. She only exists to give some good reason for the distance between Ron/Hermione and Harry. And to give him some support. The type of review you gave is exactly what I want. It makes me go back and think about what I did. I appreciate it.

Ak-Alterego: My only other thought for a title was Harry Potter & the Tome of Renaul. Didn't really like either.

End Author Notes

Some time later, Harry woke up to the familiar smell. It was dark but he still instinctively reached to the nightstand for his glasses. A feeling of dread and the need to escape suddenly flooded him. He felt trapped, like he didn't belong in this place. Before he could make a move to get up, the room lightened a bit and Professor Dumbledore stepped out from the shadows. "Ah, you are awake much sooner than we expected." The calming voice seemed to push the initial thoughts out of his mind and when Harry got a look at the man, he thought the Headmaster seemed somewhat different but couldn't place what. "How are you feeling?"

Harry tried to bend a little. "Just a little sore sir," Harry said with a scratchy throat still trying to understand his initial feelings. Dumbledore handed him a glass of water which he quickly downed. "Thanks." "Did it work? Is it over?" Harry asked.

"Yes it worked," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Is it over? I'm afraid it is never truly over." Seeing Harry's confusion he added, "Was it over when I defeated Grindewald? We hoped so but then Tom came along. Voldemort is over, I can attest to that. I dealt with the remains myself."

"How long? Is everyone ok?" Harry simply asked.

"A few days," the Headmaster replied. "Everyone is fine as well. You gave us quite a scare but I must say you recovered more rapidly than anyone expected." After looking at Harry for a moment he added, "Miss Boslav and your friends were most hesitant to leave but with final exams they were forced to." Hearing a loud snore got Harry's attention and he saw his Godfather curled up in a chair not far away. "Nothing however could force Sirius to leave," Dumbledore added still watching Harry closely. "There has been much celebrating as you can imagine. The truth was quickly made known."

Harry grimaced, let out a long breath and said, "He killed Altair." Dumbledore sadly nodded. "How many more of them?"

"A fair number Harry," Dumbledore admitted. "Altair was prepared for this. He made the choice just as you did to do whatever was necessary. You know it wouldn't have worked without his presence. Voldemort would have known something wasn't right.

"You should expect visitors from their clan," Dumbledore said causing Harry to look surprised. "You trusted them implicitly. That is something rare and you will always have a bond to them." After watching Harry take in this information he added, "A few of the Death Eaters however escaped."

"Malfoy," Harry spat.

"No, Lucius did not survive the battle."

Harry nodded and then snapped, "Bellatrix!"

"Somehow she managed to get away."

"Wormtail?"

"Interesting story," Dumbledore calmly said. "It seems he tried to stop Bellatrix from cursing you just before you disappeared with Voldemort." Harry remembered a curse narrowly missing his head. "She quickly killed him. Maybe he knew this was his last chance to repay the Wizard Debt to you."

"You sent me to my parent's house," Harry said looking confused.

"I said to the place where your connection to the tormented souls would be the strongest," Dumbledore sadly said and then noticed the necklace Harry was still wearing. "I didn't know you still had the life-stone."

"Kari gave it to me before I left. I had to promise to bring it back to her," Harry said and finally allowed himself to smile.

"And I assume that is the happy thought you focused on…"

Harry nodded and then remembered something. "His wand! Sir, I had Voldemort's wand when I came back."

"It is in my office. I didn't think it wise to just be lying around. You may retrieve it before you depart."

"You want me to take it? But it killed my parents," Harry gasped but then felt slightly anxious to retrieve the wand.

"Voldemort killed your parents Harry. The wand was just a tool he used," Dumbledore replied watching Harry closely.

Harry noticed the bandage on his left hand. "Take a look. I imagine it is almost healed by now," Dumbledore prodded.

Pulling off the bandage, Harry saw a still raw mark in the exact same shape as the scar on his forehead. "Great, another bloody scar for people to gawk at."

"I don't think you'll mind this one quite so much," Dumbledore said holding up his own left hand to show the same scar, just fainter on his palm. "You have some company this time. Molly Weasley is especially proud of hers. Sirius is most disappointed that yours will be more pronounced." Seeing Harry's confusion he said, "I will tell you the full story later and you can tell me yours. You will be able to leave soon. Madame Pomphrey was convinced to let you decide when you were ready." After a pause, Dumbledore rummaged in his pocket and produced a small object. Handing this object to Harry he said, "We've confiscated many of these from students. It has been hard to keep them focused on their exams. Please wait until I am out of the room." Dumbledore nodded at Sirius' sleeping form, smiled at Harry and then left the room. As soon as the old Wizard heard the doors close behind him he grasped onto the wall for support. It was quite some time before he finally made it back to his office.

Harry looked at the object and instantly recognized it as one of the twin's fireworks. Prodding the small object with his wand caused it to whiz into the air exploding with a loud 'Bang'. Sirius fell off the chair and jumped up, wand wildly waving around. When he looked up, he saw a large glowing red lightning bolt near the ceiling.

"That wasn't much louder than your snoring," Harry said smiling brightly at the look on Sirius' face.

"That was just bloody mean!" Sirius said looking truly angry for a second but seeing the smile on Harry's face made him lose any negative thoughts and he came to hug his Godson tightly. "You did it!"

"We did it," Harry corrected, holding in the slight pain Sirius was causing.

"Sure but you get the better mark," Sirius said showing Harry the lightning scar on his left hand. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good actually," Harry said looking confused. "With everything he did to me, I can't believe I feel this good."

Sirius grimaced and said, "You almost didn't make it. Dumbledore did something that helped you get through it. He won't say what though."

Harry wondered what the Headmaster had done but decided to just ask about it later. "Well I feel fine now. If I wasn't sore I'd feel great actually."

"Remus has been in and out," Sirius said. "Of course your friends have been here a lot. I thought Kari was going to hex Albus when he forced her to leave." Harry smiled at this thought. He knew Kari was a very strong-willed person.

"No more Dursleys," Harry said smiling at his Godfather.

"But there are still Death Eaters and they haven't been silent. Some don't believe he's gone and others are trying to do as much damage as possible before they're caught," Sirius said.

"I'm not going back," Harry coldly said startling Sirius by the tone.

"You've earned the right to make that choice," Sirius said watching Harry intently. "Grimmauld place will have to be good enough."

"I want to rebuild my parent's house," Harry firmly said realizing that is where he ultimately wanted to live.

Sirius made a face and asked, "After everything that happened there?" Seeing the look of determination on Harry's face he added, "If that's what you want but let's give it some time."

Sirius went on to tell Harry about all the Prophet articles about him and how Molly Weasley had threatened to hex the next reporter that even attempted to contact Harry. Finally, Harry was able to convince Sirius that the man should be out celebrating instead of hanging around the Hospital with him. With some peace and quiet, Harry was able to finally replay what happened in those final moments. What he couldn't understand was some of the memories that seemed to occupy his mind as well as a slight desire to get far away.

It was just after lunch when the doors flew open causing Harry to hope to see Kari walk through but wasn't disappointed to see one of his best friends come in instead. "Harry!" Hermione quickly said and gave him a tentative hug.

"I'm fine Hermione," Harry said smiling. "You don't have to worry about hurting me."

"You looked so bad Harry," Hermione said tearing up even though she was happy. "We really didn't think you were going to make it."

"You were there?" Harry exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Hermione nodded and said, "We went looking for you and the map showed everyone here so…well…you know us…"

"Can't keep your nose out of things," he teased.

Hermione smiled a bit, knowing Harry was just teasing. "I can't believe you really did it. It's over."

"Where's Ron," Harry asked just now realizing his other friend wasn't around.

"Oh," Hermione said looking a bit nervous. "Well he's…" She sighed and said, "He's kind of upset right now." Seeing Harry's confused look she said, "We know everything now. How you let Draco overhear when you told us about Professor Lupin." Harry's eyes showed the guilt he felt but Hermione continued, "And that you heard the Prophecy last year."

"I didn't want talk about the Prophecy," Harry said. "I just didn't want you guys to worry so much." Pausing for a second he said, "Dumbledore told me not to tell anyone about the real plan. He knew Malfoy was watching me. I told Kari the same story as well."

"But then you told her the truth," Hermione said with slightly more annoyance than she intended. "And you told her about the Prophecy."

Dropping back on the bed, something deep within Harry made him feel like he wanted to rage at Hermione but seeing the hurt look on her face made him say, "I can't keep anything from her. You've got Ron to share things with."

Hermione was quiet for a good bit but then said, "I can kind of understand. I just miss it being the three of us. But at least you're talking to someone."

"Thanks Hermione," Harry replied. "I don't think it'll be so easy with Ron though."

Shaking her head, Hermione said, "Probably not. He's also upset that his mom went through so much." Harry grimaced. "She wouldn't have it any other way," Hermione quickly added. "I think he's more upset that she helped instead of him. I kind of feel the same way about that. We would have done that for you."

"Professor Dumbledore said it had to be people that I knew for sure loved me," Harry said and saw the hurt look come over Hermione. "I couldn't have any doubt that they really loved me. This year, heck even last year has just been hard for us, especially with me and Ron." "I couldn't even come up with four people," Harry quickly added. "It wasn't until Professor Dumbledore made me think about why he made some of the choices he did concerning me that I realized it was really out of love and not simply using me as a tool."

"He would never use you like that," Hermione quickly said.

"You don't know how it was Hermione," Harry snapped but then caught his anger. "You can't possibly know," he said softly.

"Well," Hermione said trying to sound cheerful, "all that's in the past. You did it. It's just amazing. There's been whole Prophet editions about you." Harry groaned. "At least this time it was because of something you can remember; and choose to do."

"But I had help!" Harry added.

"That got reported as well. Professor Dumbledore's kind of getting some bad press since everyone said it should have been him and not you but the others are being praised." Harry smiled a bit at this. "Of course you're everyone's hero," Hermione teased.

"Great," Harry groaned.

Hermione took his hand and firmly said, "You are though. You know that, right?"

"I just did what had to be done. It was our best chance," Harry quickly replied.

Nodding, Hermione said, "And that's what makes you the hero. Things may have changed a bit with all of us but you're still my best friend. Ron and I are together but in many ways you and I are closer. You're family as much as my parents are."

Those words nearly brought a tear to his eye and he hugged her saying, "You're my best friend too Hermione. No matter what happens with Kari I'd do anything for you."

"I know you would," Hermione said, "and you should know that I love you no matter what. Ron does too, he just needs some time." Harry couldn't respond to this so he just hugged her again.

Later that afternoon, Madame Pomphrey had just finished running her wand over Harry when she said, "I suppose you insist on leaving tomorrow?" Harry just smiled at the woman. "Well you have come a long way in the past few days. I still think…."

"Oh no!" Kari exclaimed quickly entering the room. "He's out of here in the morning. We've already been over this." Harry wondered if it had been Kari that convinced Madame Pomphrey that he could leave as soon as he felt ready.

Madame Pomphrey looked ready to explode but Kari didn't seem intimidated. Harry however just stared at the girl in amazement. The Matron turned back to Harry and said, "I'll see you in the morning Mr. Potter." With that she turned and left the room without another look at the girl.

Turning back to the patient, Kari launched herself into him and hugged him tight. As soon as she let up Harry said, "Man you're scary sometimes. And I thought you were such a nice sweet girl."

"Stuff it Potter," Kari said giving him a firm kiss. "I've never given you the impression I'm a nice sweet girl. And," she said pausing to kiss him again, "as I recall you didn't have a big problem with that."

"No problem at all," Harry said smiling. Holding out his hand, Harry dropped the life-stone back into her hand. "I promised I'd return this." He thought she was having a hard time controlling her emotions as he added, "It was you. I needed the happiest thought I could come up with and it was you."

This time Harry pulled her into a hug and when he let go, he could tell her eyes were quite wet but she dealt with it well. "Don't you ever put me through that again." Before Harry could say anything, she gave him another deep kiss.

"I'm done with the prophecy," Harry said smiling. "From now on I'll be plain old boring Harry."

Kari snorted a bit and said, "Somehow I don't ever see you being plain and boring." Kari spent the next hour telling Harry about all the celebrations and about Dumbledore binding a dozen reporters and sending them floating out of the castle. "And your bloody Gryffindors are strutting around here like they're king of the world. They're completely insufferable," she said shaking her head. "Like they had any clue what was going on."

"You don't mean that," Harry said and saw Kari roll her eyes. "What about the Slytherins?"

"A few of them left," she quickly said stunning Harry. "I think the ones whose parents were already Death Eaters are kind of afraid what you'll do to them."

"Me? What could I do to them?" Harry asked.

After shaking her head she said, "I've really got my work cut out with you. Know that?" After a quick kiss she said, "Don't think about them, we don't want their kind around anyway."

Just remembering something he asked, "What happened to Malfoy?"

"Convinced he belonged somewhere else," she said with an evil glare. "Should have been more but he didn't actually break any laws. Git. They should have let me take care of him"

Kari was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed still talking about everything else that was going on and all the wild stories being told about him when Madame Pomphrey came back in and firmly said, "Curfew was ten minutes ago Miss Boslav and your boyfriend may be the most famous Wizard in Britain right now but no student stays in my Ward overnight unless they're a patient."

Harry could see Kari tense up but he said, "Don't get on her wrong side or she won't fix me up so well next time. Just come back in the morning."

"Oh I'll be here," Kari said giving the woman another evil glare. "Now that tests are over you won't be able to get rid of me."

"I have no problem with that," Harry said with a final kiss.

It took Harry a while to fall asleep, even after the torches were put out and the Ward became dark. His sleep was less than peaceful though as flashes of things he didn't understand kept startling him away. A slight sound woke him sometime later. Slowly putting his glasses on, he realized he couldn't see very far in the dim light but something shimmering caught his eye just off to the side of his bed. Focusing hard on the shimmer, he was amazed as it slowly came into focus. Standing just besides the next bed was Ginny Weasley covered by what Harry now recognized as his Invisibility Cloak. 'How can I see through that?' Harry thought about it and quickly remembered Dumbledore being able to see through them. "Ginny," Harry softly said and watched the girl's eyes grow huge as she glanced down to see if her feet were sticking out. "It's not your feet," Harry joked. "Come closer."

Ginny took a tentative step and Harry said, "And take my cloak off. How'd you get it anyway?"

Slowly, Ginny removed the cloak still with a wide-eyed expression on her face. "How'd you see me?"

"How'd you get my cloak?" Harry asked smiling.

"Hermione thought you may need some company," Ginny said stepping just a little closer.

"Hermione's more likely to say I need my rest," Harry joked.

"Oh…well maybe she did say that but she still got the cloak for me. That's ok isn't it?"

"Of course! I've had enough sleep the past few days anyway."

"I figured you had visitors all day so that's why I didn't come by yet," she said fidgeting.

"You could have come up anytime, but it is kind of nice now that it's quiet," Harry said. "So you're not mad at me like Ron is?"

"Well," she said getting a sly glint in her eye, "definitely not as much as Ron but let's just say that if you weren't in the Hospital this conversation wouldn't be so quiet."

Harry actually laughed but then said, "Well now I'm glad Madame Pomphrey kept me overnight." He then turned serious and said, "I hope you can forgive me for not telling you everything. I just couldn't talk about the Prophecy. I could barely deal with it myself."

"I guess I can kind of understand," Ginny said now leaning against his bed. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for getting all moody on you this year." She didn't let Harry talk and continued, "When you came back we all thought…well you didn't look good and I just thought that if you didn't make it well I wasted a bunch of time acting weird."

"No one should apologize to me for acting moody," Harry quickly said. "You all put up with me and continued to be my friend when I acted way worse than you ever did." The two were silent until Harry said, "How about we both just promise to say whatever we want to each other. I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me and I hope you know that I'd never hurt you on purpose either. You're one of my favorite people in the world."

Ginny beamed and said, "Yeah, that sounds good." Laughing she said, "You should see mom. She's always going around showing people her palm. Bill said that Fred and George laced the meal the other night so the whole family had a scar on their hand."

Harry laughed and then turned very serious as he said, "I really didn't know that getting hurt would cause them so much pain. I thought it was just supposed to be a little bit."

Ginny grimaced and said, "It was scary. But she sat us down that night and explained everything. She wouldn't want you to go through that without her." Harry nodded in silence but Ginny said, "We're all really proud of you. Before long things can get back to normal."

"Normal," Harry said sighing. "I don't really know what normal is. The best times I can remember are the few weeks I've been able to spend at the Burrow."

"Well," Ginny said smiling as she patted his hand, "you can spend as much time there now as you want. And with the twins gone, you'll be much safer than I ever was." Ginny stayed a while longer before she snuck back to the common room feeling very content.

Harry had just started trying to get back to sleep with a soft shuffle caught his ears. Thinking that Ginny had come back he looked around in the darkness again and saw no shimmering this time. Just as he was ready to dismiss this as sounds an old castle makes, he felt a wave of comfort and knew what was around. Sitting back up Harry now saw three darkened shapes at the end of his bed. "I wish I knew how you did that," Harry said. "Lumos," he added causing his wand to glow lighting up the immediate area. The Headmaster had mentioned that they may want to talk to him.

He now saw that there were three Vampires at the end of his bed, surveying him with curious smiles. Two very large middle-aged men on either side of a more petite woman. As much as Harry thought Altair exuded confidence, this female vampire had it is excess.

She stepped around to the side and said, "We may trust you Harry Potter but we won't give away all our secrets. My name is Daniella Drovich. I was appointed leader after Altair's murder." Harry grimaced at the thought of the Vampire being murdered by Voldemort. "He chose that path," she said in a more calming voice. "If he hadn't, Voldemort would have been suspicious."

"I know," Harry said still feeling bad. "I just hoped he would have made it somehow."

"He is being remembered as a hero," she said. "His sacrifice showed our people that he believed in what he told us."

"Thank you all for your help," Harry honestly said. "The papers didn't mention you had any part in it though."

The two male vampires grumbled a little but Daniella simply said, "How could they? If it had come out you were working with our kind, most would consider you just slightly above Voldemort. It is the only way."

"Is there any way we can change that?" Harry asked.

"Maybe in time," Daniella firmly said. "Now is not the time though. I wanted to come tonight to meet you in person and to say that Altair had confidence in what you were doing." Harry slowly nodded. "We have agreed to help with the Death Eaters who escaped, but must do it quietly. The Ministry would never accept our help."

"That's just crazy," Harry exclaimed. "We couldn't have beaten Voldemort without you."

"Of course you could have," Daniella firmly replied. "It may have taken longer but you would have. Maybe in the future things will change but for now we will remain in the shadows."

"If I can ever do anything, just ask," Harry said causing the two male vampires to look at each other.

"We may take you up on that Harry," Daniella said shaking his hand again. "If you ever want to talk, just focus really hard. One of us will feel it. We don't move as quickly as Wizards can but we will come."

It took Harry quite a while to finally fall asleep after the Vampires left. Every few minutes he would sit up to see if anyone else was in the room with him.

Harry had just gotten changed into his robes the next morning when Kari walked in asking, "So now that you're The Boy Who Kicked Butt are you ready to take over the ministry?"

"How about we finish school first?" Harry asked as he bumped shoulders with her.

"Bloody no-ambition Gryffindors," Kari teased. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Do you think everybody will leave me alone?" Harry asked and Kari quickly snorted. "I suppose that was too much to hope for. How about we just go out by the lake? If we can make it past them."

"Oh we can make it past," Kari said pulling out Harry's Invisibility Cloak. The shocked look must have shown on Harry's face. "No I haven't been sneaking into your dorm. However, I think that will be a goal of mine for next year." This made Harry's eyes grow wide. "The little Weasley girl was hanging around the top of the stairs to our dungeons this morning and told me that we may want this." This really surprised Harry. "Do I want to know why she has your Invisibility Cloak?"

"Hermione gave it to her so she could visit last night," Harry quickly said.

"Oh," Kari said. "That shouldn't bother me should it?"

"What?" Harry quickly exclaimed and then turned the girl around to face him. "I would never do anything that I thought would make you mad. You don't need to worry about that."

She only studied his face for a moment before kissing him and saying, "Good. I'd hate to see the headlines if I blasted you into next week so soon after you finished off You-Know-Who."

"You know I'm a hero now and you shouldn't be threatening me in public. Think of what it would do to my image," Harry joked as the two disappeared under the cloak.

After a quiet day where the two spent it hidden, moving amongst the students, both inside and outside of the castle, Harry headed back to the dorm to pack for the trip home in the morning. He was still under the Invisibility Cloak as he followed a younger student into their Common Room. Instantly he was glad he was hidden because there were banners with his name and congratulations everywhere. One thing that did make him happy however was that everyone seemed really happy. With all the attacks this year, it had been rare when the students had acted genuinely happy.

Silently he made his way up the stairs, narrowly avoiding other boys and snuck in. All of the other dorm mates were busy packing as well. Dean and Seamus seemed to be having a war with small objects that exploded with spots of color when they hit the other person. Ron seemed to just be pushing around what few things he had already put in his trunk. A small part of Harry wanted to yell at Ron for not coming to visit but the largest part of him wanted things to just go back to when they were happy.

Taking off his Invisibility Cloak without being noticed, Harry grabbed the top of his open trunk and slammed it shut causing a loud 'bang' to echo through the dorm. There were various shouts but Ron's roar of 'Bloody Hell!' was by far the loudest. "Sorry guys did I startle you?" Harry asked with a gleam in his eyes.

Three of his dorm mates instantly came over to congratulate him and ask questions but Ron seemed to be hanging back. Dean noticed and after elbowing Seamus and Neville, those three said they had to get back to packing.

Harry could tell that Ron was a mix of emotions and also knew his friend wasn't very good at handling conflicting emotions anyway so he decided to sidestep the entire subject. "Jeez mate," Harry said gesturing at Ron's stuff strewn across his bed, "I just got here and I'm not far behind you." Ron shrugged and dropped another few things into his trunk. Harry caught Neville's eye and nodded to the door.

Understanding Neville said to Dean and Seamus, "Hey guys could you help me with something out here?" Neville looked between Harry and Ron and then nodded to the door.

"Wha…?" Seamus started to ask before Dean hit him in the arm and said, "Sure Neville. Let's go."

Harry smiled at the boys as they left, grateful for their understanding. Ron was still fidgeting with the pile of clothes he just place in his trunk when Harry firmly asked, "So is this how it's going to be?" Ron spun around looking angry but Harry didn't back down and simply asked, "Well is it?"

"You knew about the Prophecy since last year. Why didn't you tell us?" Ron questioned obviously angry.

"I just didn't want to talk about it. At first I didn't know how to deal with it myself." Ron started to say something but Harry continued, "And you know how you two would have been. Hermione would have started crying and then spent every free hour in the library trying to find out some logical solution to the whole thing. And you would have gotten all mad because she was spending all her free time on that rather than with you."

Ron started to say something two or three times but always stopped. Finally he said, "But you didn't have a problem talking to the Slytherin about it."

"Her name is Kari, Ron. You should learn it," Harry snapped.

Ron flinched at the venom in Harry's voice but still said, "Fine but you still told her and not us. We've been your friends forever and you just told her."

Harry felt a stab of guilt at this and said, "I owed her Ron. I couldn't have gotten Sirius back without her. I owed her."

"You didn't tell us about that either!" Ron bellowed.

"Well sorry that upset you but it was the right thing," Harry yelled back. "I couldn't have done it without Kari and if I told you and Hermione what I was going to do, Hermione would have tried to stop me. She said she'd tell Dumbledore if I was even thinking about the Veil. And you wouldn't have stopped your girlfriend. I don't regret not telling you about that."

Harry could see Ron repeatedly clenching his fists but knew that his friend had to know he was right about how Hermione would have acted. "Fine," Ron snapped surprising Harry, "But you used us when you fed us that fake story. You could have told us the truth later. You told her."

That one hurt because Harry had been so torn on whether to tell them the whole plan or not. He dropped onto his bed and rubbed his temples. "Yeah I could have," Harry said sounding defeated. "I just worried about us getting into another row and something about the plan getting blurted out. Kind of like you letting slip about us and the Slytherin Common Room. I just couldn't take the chance. I'm sorry."

Now Ron sat as well and Harry could tell he was thinking hard. "You used to need us around. Now it's like you don't need us at all," the boy admitted, almost looking ashamed to have said this.

It took Harry a second to think of something to say. "I need you as my friend Ron. You were the first friend I ever had. You and Hermione seemed to be doing just fine not hanging around me very much at the beginning of the year by the way. You two were off on your own thing before I was. You two didn't need me either."

Ron snorted and said, "Obviously we did. The whole bloody Wizarding World did. We just didn't know it until the other night." After a bit of silence Ron again seemed annoyed and asked, "How many more things are you keeping from us?"

Tired of fighting the same battles Harry firmly said, "More than you'll ever know Ron." This wasn't what the other boy expected but Harry continued, "The only question is can you still be my friend knowing that?"

A few hours before the leave-taking feast, Harry was summoned to the Headmaster's office. Just before opening the door, the feeling of dread and a desire to run began rising but as soon as he entered the door, Fawkes flapped happily and trilled a note which banished all negative thoughts. "You get prettier every time I see you Fawkes," Harry said stroking the bird.

"I think Fawkes may visit you over the summer Harry," Dumbledore said from behind his desk. "He was most distressed when you were in the Hospital."

"Don't worry about me Fawkes," Harry said with a final stroke. "Everything's going to be ok now."

"May I ask if you are still planning to pursue a career as an Auror?" Dumbledore said as Harry sat in front of the desk.

Harry laughed and told the man what Kari had said, "I'm not sure I like the idea of being at the bidding of the Ministry. Madame Bones seems ok but it could just as easily be someone like Fudge. Maybe I can play Quidditch?"

"If I may suggest," Dumbledore said looking at Harry over his half-glasses. "Think about coming back some day." Seeing the startled expression on Harry's face he added, "After your successful Quidditch career of course. I think you would make a fine teacher and I'm sure you would always feel at home here."

After letting this sink in for a second Harry smiled brightly and said, "Only if the curse of the Defense Professors is gone by then." Then he remembered something, "Sir, someone came to visit me in the Hospital last night and they were wearing my Invisibility Cloak." Harry just remembered who he was talking to and added, "Umm...The points are final now aren't they?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "I assure you I won't take any points for anything said in the next thirty minutes."

"Good," Harry said brightly. "Well when Ginny came in, I could see her under the Cloak. How did I do that?"

Dumbledore didn't hesitate and said, "I would imagine it is some residual effects of being linked to the four of us. I wouldn't worry about it. You could have learned it easily enough." Even though his voice didn't betray anything, Harry had the sudden impression that the Headmaster wasn't being entirely truthful to him but decided not to say at the moment.

Harry then thought he saw the Headmaster flinch but he didn't say anything. "You should get ready for the feast," Dumbledore said without rising. "Here," he added handing Harry the wand that had caused him so much pain. Harry hesitantly took it and Dumbledore could see the pain in the boy's eyes. Beneath the pain however was a bubbling feeling of contentment at having that wand in his hands. "You can destroy it if you want," Dumbledore said causing Harry to feel slightly panicked. "I dare say Fawkes would approve. However I think that in a few years you would be glad to have it as a remembrance of what you fought for."

Harry nodded and with a final goodbye to Fawkes, left the room. Dumbledore visibly weakened once Harry was out of the room and was still weary when Professor McGonagall came up shortly after.

"Albus, you shouldn't go to the feast. Putting on an act like this is taking too much out of you," McGonagall scolded because she hated to see her mentor distressed.

"Minerva it is imperative I go," Dumbledore said sitting up a bit straighter. "There are those out there who are still enraged and confused. If they think Hogwarts is unprotected, the will use the opportunity. They must not know yet."

The woman shook her head and asked, "Not even Harry?"

"No," Dumbledore firmly said. "Let him have a few days without worry. He has earned that much. I'll see you down there."

After Professor McGonagall was safely out of earshot, the portrait of Phineas Nigellas watched the current Headmaster intently and asked, "Was it worth it?"

"Oh yes my old friend," Dumbledore cheerfully replied. "Something I am most proud of actually."

"Did you ever have any doubt in him?"

"That he would win?" Dumbledore thought only for a second and said, "No. That he would make it back?..." The man gave no firm answer.

"Well have you picked out a prime spot for your portrait?" the portrait asked.

"I would like something with a view out the window I think," Dumbledore answered smiling.

"Might I suggest something out of Potter's throwing range," Phineas threw in drawing a grand laugh from the Headmaster.

The leave taking feast passed almost in a blur to Harry. Even though he sat with his friends and even had a few normal conversations with Ron, he still felt something wasn't right. Adding to his feeling of unease was the quick departure of the Headmaster after a short speech. Oh, the man gave a good enough reason. There were in fact still Death Eaters and the Ministry did need help at the moment, but Harry still could tell the Headmaster had been hiding something.

Harry and Kari only spent a short time together after the feast, promising to meet first thing in the morning and to ride together on the train. After making the excuse he was tired which his friends understood, he made his way through the students to his bed and closed the curtains.

Finally with some time to think, Harry thought about the reason the Headmaster had given him for being able to see through his Invisibility Cloak. 'Residual effects' was the reason given but Harry knew Professor Dumbledore wasn't telling him everything. Now, after a few hours of thinking about it, Harry knew why he could see through the Invisibility Cloak. He could see the technique clearly in his mind. How it got there he wasn't sure but didn't buy it was residual effects of being linked.

Trying to focus on the thoughts and feelings that had been skirting the edges of his memory, Harry could tell they weren't from anything he had experienced. Some of them seemed to bring up the desire to get away from the castle but he couldn't ever focus on those clearly.

It was long after the other boys had come up and gone to bed that Harry lay there, still wide awake, trying to get his hands around the snippets of thoughts he was having. After replaying the last minutes with Voldemort and seeing the man try some spell before falling to the floor and dropping his wand, Harry had the urge to look at the wand that had caused him so much pain.

Taking extra care so he didn't wake anyone up, Harry lifted the clothes that hid the item he was looking for. A feeling of slight disgust came over him just before he touched the wand, but once it was firmly wrapped in his fingers, it didn't feel unwelcome at all. Sitting up in his bed now and studying the wand, Harry didn't feel like being trapped in the dorm and needed some space.

Silently making his way out of the dorm and down to the Common Room, Harry felt slightly more relieved with each step. When he closed the portrait of the Fat Lady after stepping through she said, "Now where are you going at this hour?"

The first feeling that welled up in him actually scared him a bit, but fortunately he was able to catch it and simply glared at the woman. "I'm just going for a walk. I know you all talk about me but don't worry; I'm not going to do anything that you need to tell Professor Dumbledore about. He needs his rest." The painting studied him so Harry said, "I promise."

The Fat Lady softened and said, "Very well dear. Be careful."

Moving silently through the darkened halls, Harry felt comfortable in the silence. After some time of walking he found himself in front of the girl's bathroom that brought back both fond and terrifying memories. Immediately after stepping in, a slight smile crossed his face as he pictured Ron, Hermione and himself working on the Polyjuice potion.

"Hello Harry," Moaning Myrtle said floating in. "I wondered if you'd come by."

Looking at the girl, Harry noticed she didn't seem quite so depressed. "Hi Myrtle," Harry said. "Why didn't you tell me back then? You knew didn't you?" Harry asked knowing she would understand what he was talking about.

"I knew. Would it have made you happy?" Myrtle said causing Harry to think. "You know it wouldn't have," she said gliding closer. "But you knew something was different then didn't you?" Harry just shrugged. "Of course you did. You were always so nice to us and even to me."

"So you've all been spying on me and making sure Professor Dumbledore knew everything I did," he said without any spite in his voice.

"Well," she said looking slightly guilty, "we did take an extra interest in you but we let him know all kinds of things. You never got in too much trouble though did you?"

Harry smiled thinking about this. Even if Dumbledore knew all the things he and his friends did, the man never used this against them. "Thank you Myrtle," Harry said as he walked out to continue his thinking.

Finally arriving at the top of the stairs on the 6th floor, Harry placed his legs through the railing and looked all the way down to the ground floor, enjoying the feeling of height. When the stairs moved, he took in the feeling of movement as the paintings went by his face. Standing and leaning against the rail, he took out the wand again. Not quite understanding why he wasn't repulsed to have the object in his hands, Harry began twirling the wand in his hand, feeling more and more comfortable with it by the minute.

Concentrating, he was able to make the wand light up and then focused on timing the light to only come on at the top of the cycle lighting up the area in short flashes. Each time he timed it correctly a small surge of excitement coursed through him. Looking around at the portraits and hallways as they lit up, Harry began to think about all the possibilities before him.

Severus Snape woke from his restless sleep feeling a dull ache and a sense of dread. Knowing it shouldn't be anything to worry about; he still couldn't shake the feelings, both the ache and the dread. Standing in an annoyed mood, the Potions Master decided to take a walk in hopes of catching some student breaking rules. Nothing helped his mood more than extracting punishment on students from other houses.

As he stepped out of the dungeon, the ache throbbed a bit but then went back to the dull feeling the he originally had. Even though the man had no clear destination, he felt drawn in a direction. Finally arriving in the entrance hall, the man instantly noticed a flashing light high above him. Focusing on the light he could tell it was a student. With firm determination, the man silently but swiftly climbed the stairs, preparing to dole out harsh punishment. When he reached the fourth floor, he now saw something that he couldn't figure out. The student was sitting on top of the railing with his feet hooked through to keep his balance. The next flash brought both a gleam to the man's eyes and also a sense of foreboding as the ache throbbed again. The Teacher now recognized the student but couldn't place the look in the boy's eyes.

Quickly climbing the remaining steps to reach the boy's level, Professor Snape felt the rush at being able to bring the boy down a level. "Potter!" Snape exclaimed once he was on the same stairway as the boy. "You do know it is after curfew don't you? Of course you never feel rules apply to you."

Snape had a hard time not showing his confusion as Harry simply swung one leg back over the railing so that he was now straddling the stone rail. "Hello Sev…Professor Snape," Harry said still twirling the flashing wand.

"You are fortunate awards have already been given Potter or you would have lost your house the cup," Snape spat, trying to figure out the boy's expression and to understand why the ache increased.

"I think they would have forgiven me Professor," Harry said now jumping off the railing so that he was standing a few steps above the Professor.

"You think you're something don't you Potter?" Snape growled. "One bit of luck and nearly getting four people killed and now you expect everyone to drop down and bow."

Severus could have sworn he felt pressure on his back that almost forced him to bow but it quickly passed. "I'm sorry Professor," Harry said. "I just couldn't sleep and wanted to take a walk. I'm sure whatever punishment you give will be …fair."

"You will be punished Potter. Gryffindor will start out in the hole next year," Snape said and was annoyed that Harry's expression didn't change. "It was luck you know," Snape added. "You had no hope without their help. You did nothing special. And stop that incessant twirling!"

Harry felt something flash but kept it deep inside. Professor Snape however caught the change as the bright white flashes of light turned into a couple of green flashes instead. Then the twirling stopped and Harry's light went out. "May I go now Professor?" Harry asked with annoyance in his voice.

"Get out of my sight Potter. And don't whine about the points next year," Snape coldly said.

"Of course Professor," Harry said stepping by the man. Snape watched the boy descend the stairs with both rage and confusion. Harry stopped just before the final stair on this level and without turning around asked, "Professor. How's your arm?" Continuing down the stairs, Harry didn't see the look of shock on Professor Snape's face or the man grabbing his left arm. The entrance hall began flashing again as Harry returned to twirling the wand.

The train ride back to London had been non-eventful with Harry, Kari and two of her friends sitting with Ron and Hermione. Ron didn't look comfortable the entire trip but Hermione did an outstanding job of talking to the Slytherins and did manage to get Ron involved a few times. With brief flashes of normalcy, Harry felt he and Ron would be fine before long.

Exiting the train, it was clear that there were loads more people waiting than normal. When Harry and Kari stepped out, the whispers, then mumbling and then shouting began. Harry grimaced but Kari whispered, "The Ministry…Walk in. Tell her you want the job."

"Shut up Boslav," Harry whispered back just as a few familiar faces walked up.

"Wotcher Harry, Kari," Tonks brightly said as she approached with Kingsley and Mad-Eye. The two men nodded at him.

"I don't need a guard anymore," Harry said annoyed.

"'Course you do Potter," Mad-Eye said. "Haven't caught them all yet."

Harry was just about to go off on the man but Kinsgley said, "Were not here so much to guard you as to keep them," the man nodded to the press waiting not far away, "from bothering you. Unless of course you want to hex them yourself?"

"Just ignore them," Kari firmly said. "Haven't I taught you anything?" she added with a smile. They quickly walked to where Harry saw the Weasleys standing. The three adults were walked on the outside, keeping them separated from the crowd yelling.

"Oh my dear boy," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as soon as she let Ginny go. Harry was pulled into a tight hug, one that he returned with more meaning than ever before. "We're so proud of you."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Harry said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

The woman stepped back beaming and turned to the Slytherin. Surprising the usually in control girl, Molly embraced her in a motherly hug and said, "It's good to see you under less stressful conditions dear."

Kari regained her composure and said, "You too Mrs. Weasley. I don't think I ever thanked you for helping him come back."

"My pleasure dear," the woman said just as they heard someone call "Kari!"

"My parents," Kari excitedly said. Harry turned to see the two adults just off to one side. He instantly saw where she got her looks as her mother was an extremely attractive woman. She got her height from her father as the man was easily over six feet. With an anxious feeling nearing the night he went to fight Voldemort, Harry allowed himself to be dragged towards the adults.

Kari released his had just as they got to her parents and wrapped her mother in a tight hug. She quickly moved to her father next. Harry stood back just a bit both nervous and happy to see how she got on with her parents. His pleasant thoughts were interrupted when she said, "Get over here!"

Tentatively, Harry stepped up to the three and Kari took his hand again. "Mom, Dad, this is Harry."

"Pleased to meet you Harry," Mrs. Boslav said extending her hand but closely studying the boy.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Boslav," Harry said lightly shaking her hand.

Her father seemed to be watching Harry even closer as he then extended his hand. "Mr. Potter," he said.

"Mr. Boslav," Harry replied shaking the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you both."

Mrs. Boslav finally smiled brightly and said, "Thank you for everything you've done." The woman then hugged Harry firmly.

"But why'd you have to be a Gryffindor?" Mr. Boslav asked.

"Dad!" Kari said as her father gave her a sly smile.

The three talked for a few minutes before Harry noticed Sirius standing near the Weasleys, talking to Hermione's parents. Kari saw him looking and said, "Ok, you will write and we'll see each other a lot."

Harry nodded and said, "And we'll be able to apparate before much longer and then it'll be easier to see each other."

"My birthday's a couple weeks before yours. Do you want me to wait so we can take the test together?" she asked.

"No!" Harry firmly said. "Don't wait on me. Get your license as soon as you can."

After their goodbyes, Harry ignored all the calls and made his way to his Godfather, hugging the man tightly. "Ok, so how are we getting home? Are we going to floo?"

Sirius got the look in his eyes that made Harry know something was up. "Floos are so boring," Sirius said drawing a look from Mrs. Weasley. "I've got another idea. C'mon." Sirius then turned to Tonks and said, "You getting his trunk?"

Tonks nodded and then firmly said, "You hurt him and I'll hurt you."

"Don't worry so much…mum," Sirius joked as they made their way into Muggle London. Harry noticed that directly in front of the station, there was only one large car parked where there should have been many. "Muggles think it's full," Sirius said.

"This one's ours," Arthur said as he opened the door to the large car. "The Ministry is feeling generous."

"But how's Harry getting home?" Ginny asked, which was the question he wanted answered as well.

"On this of course," Sirius said as he felt around until his hand stopped on something. With a flick of his thumb, a large motorbike appeared in thin air. Quickly looking around, Harry noticed no Muggles were even paying attention. Before he could ask how Sirius had done that, the answer seemed to come to him. With a quick focus on that, he knew exactly what the charm was. "Unless of course you're afraid," he heard Sirius said and it snapped him out of his thoughts. Harry saw Ron and Ginny eyeing the bike closely.

"Even if I was, I wouldn't let you know," Harry said looking at the gleaming bike. "Where's it been?"

"Well Hagrid had it while I was…away," Sirius said. "It's been at the house since I've been back. I've spent the past couple months cleaning it up and making sure it was in prime condition. Here," he added tossing Harry a helmet. "I don't see how it could make your hair any worse than it normally is."

Harry could see Mrs. Weasley not looking pleased, but Mr. Weasley had his arm around her and whispered something, causing the woman to slightly smile. "Make sure you write," Ginny said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "And you," she said rounding on Sirius. "Be careful with him." Sirius nodded and winked at the girl.

"See you this summer?" Ron asked with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"You bet. Couldn't miss a summer at the Burrow," Harry brightly replied causing Ron to beam.

Sirius started the motorbike with a loud roar causing Muggles to now look. Harry hopped on behind Sirius and his Godfather took of, squealing the tires as he went. The ride back had been fantastic as far as Harry was concerned. Sirius drove fast; really fast but Harry felt alive and never once felt frightened.

"That was brilliant!" Harry exclaimed as the two got off the bike at their destination. "I thought it had some special features though."

"You bet it does," Sirius said proudly. "We could have been here in less than half the time but sometimes quicker isn't always better. I'll show you everything it can do before long.

Harry entered the house without and reservation at all. He was genuinely anxious to live here. As soon as they entered, they heard Tonks and Remus talking from the kitchen. "Why don't you go get settled into your room," Sirius said. "Come back down whenever you feel like it."

Nodding, Harry started climbing the steps to his room. His own room, not Dudley's second room, but one of his own. "You!" he heard as he passed the portrait of Sirius' mom. He had assumed she was asleep since he didn't hear her bellowing earlier. "You're the worst of the lot you know. Mudblood lover. Couldn't leave well enough alone."

Harry flashed enough anger to startle the woman in the portrait but before yelling, a feeling came over him and he slowly pulled the second wand from his pocket. "Mrs. Black," Harry coldly said and then leaned over the stairs to make sure the adults were still in the kitchen. "I don't know why Professor Dumbledore didn't throw you out," he coldly said and saw her eyes get wide. "Oh, I know he could have. You know what happened don't you?"

"So what," the woman spat. "A stroke of luck. He rose once before he will again."

Harry smiled and said, "Tom Riddle will never come back." Leaning closer he said, "I can take you down you know. I know what to do."

"Filthy liar," the woman snapped but Harry could tell she wasn't sure.

"Well," Harry said holding up the wand, "you may not recognize this but you may understand what it can do." Harry softly drug the wand over the edge of the painting causing the woman to his in pain. "Now you know for sure."

"You can't use magic," she hissed. "I know how old you are."

Looking again to make sure the adults weren't paying attention Harry said, "Do you really think the Ministry is going to charge me again? After what just happened?"

"So take me down," she spat. "Get me away from that blood traitor."

"Don't you ever talk about Sirius that way," Harry said with the wand tip pointing at the woman's head. Collecting himself Harry said, "I happen to think you should stay." The woman looked like she didn't believe him. "This was your house and you are a blood relative of Sirius. And," Harry said getting an evil smile, "there is nothing as important as blood." After watching the woman ponder this he said, "I can remove you." She looked skeptical so Harry held up the wand again. "I'm going to ask you a simple question and you only get one chance. Do you want to stay? If you do, you will behave and at least be respectful of anyone who comes to the house. One slip and…well I think you understand. Now what do you say?"

The woman's eyes flitted around and then she focused on Harry and nodded. "Good," Harry brightly said returning the wand to its hiding place. "I think you belong here."

Once in his room, Harry rubbed his head and wondered how he knew the technique to remove that portrait and how he knew what would hurt her. Taking in his surroundings for the first time, he smiled. His Godfather had brightened the room greatly. Feeling like he really belonged somewhere caused him to feel very warm and happy and in that feeling came a quick flash of something that happened when he came back to the Hospital Wing. He saw what Dumbledore did but didn't fully understand what it was. Just as he was trying to concentrate on that, he heard Sirius yell at him from downstairs.

The rest of the day passed quickly and later it was only Sirius, Remus and Harry sitting in the kitchen. "Is the Order still going to meet here?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Sirius quickly said. "Dumbledore's cancelled the latest ones though. Suppose he's busy but I'd like to know what's going on."

"Just enjoy the time off Sirius," Remus joked. "Think you can stand living here?" he asked looking at Harry.

"Stand it?" Harry exclaimed. "I think it's brilliant." Both men beamed.

"You know about the tie thing don't you?" Sirius asked causing Remus to choke. Harry shook his head. "Well," Sirius went on with a gleam, "Since we have three healthy men living here, there may be times when one of us has company of the fairer sex."

"Or species in your case Padfoot," Remus quickly added causing Harry to laugh.

"Whatever," Sirius scowled. "A tie on the door is the key. Don't disturb someone with a tie on the door. Got it." Harry nodded, not really wanting to think about Remus or Sirius doing something like that.

"You're not really ready to need a tie yet are you Harry?" Remus asked, looking slightly unsure he wanted the answer.

Before Harry could answer Sirius exclaimed, "He should be! By the time I was out of sixth year I…." The man saw Remus' scowl and Harry's wide eyes and said, "Well I was just glad I had a tie."

"No tie yet," Harry said shaking his head at Sirius. "Listen, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day." 'This is going to take some getting used to,' Harry thought climbing into bed. He had been so used to not talking to people in the house and spending so much time alone in his room that this was somewhat foreign to him. Now alone with his thoughts, he tried to understand some of the things that were coming to him. During the day, except for rare cases, the thoughts had been very comforting and the thoughts seemed to be making more sense as time went on. At night however, many of the thoughts disturbed and yet excited him on some level.

It was the third night when Harry sat straight up in bed and understood what the Headmaster had done to save his life that night. A feeling of panic came over him and he stood up and began pacing, not wanting to believe it and yet understanding why the man done it. It all made sense now. The feelings he had been having and the Headmaster's actions before leaving school.

Harry was still in a daze the next morning, trying to think of any other explanation. He noticed Remus and Sirius exchanging looks of worry but was thankful that they both didn't push him on it.

It was just after breakfast when with a flash of fire Fawkes appeared in the kitchen singing a single note that filled the room. Harry was almost expecting this and didn't jump like the two adults did. "Hello Fawkes," Harry said stroking the bird. "Suppose this is for me?" The bird nuzzled his hand and Harry took the note.

"Sure. He gets mail via Phoenix and we're stuck with a borrowed owl," Sirius said.

"Let's get another owl then," Harry said smiling at his Godfather. "Hedwig could use the company." Harry also wasn't very surprised by the note:

**Mr. Potter…**

**The Headmaster would like your presence at your earliest convenience. He said you would know how to get here.**

**Minerva McGonagall**

Harry nodded his head and then looked at Fawkes who was eyeing him intently. "Well?" Sirius said.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see me," Harry firmly said.

The two men looked worried as Sirius said, "I've tried to see him for days but he's too busy."

"You didn't just save the world," Remus said only half teasing.

"But you two helped!" Harry said trying to keep it light-hearted.

"How are you getting there? Do you want me to drive you?" Sirius asked.

"I guess that's why Fawkes is still here. Is that right boy?" Harry asked stroking the large bird again. "Well I'll go see what he wants," Harry said and could tell Sirius didn't like him going alone. "I'm with a Phoenix and going to see Professor Dumbledore. What could happen to me?"

Harry could tell Sirius was torn but Remus said, "He's not used to the mothering role. Go on, we'll see you later."

Not catching Sirius' response to Remus, Harry grabbed Fawkes' tail and vanished in a blaze of fire. "I'd like to try that once," Sirius said as his Godson vanished.

Harry appeared in the Headmaster's office where Professor McGonagall was waiting. The first thing Harry noticed was that the woman seemed quite sad. Even though he had now expected this, the reality of it deeply saddened him. "Mr. Potter," she said through bloodshot eyes. "Al..The Headmaster would like to see you but before…."

"I know Professor," Harry sadly said as she looked stunned. "I'm sorry," he softly added.

After she studied him closely, she said, "Very well, he's through there." Pointing to a door off the side of the office.

Harry stepped through, fighting hard to control the feeling welling up. Once inside what he now realized was the Headmaster's private Chamber, he saw the man he respected above all others laying on a bed looking very frail. Fawkes was perched not far away moving his gaze from the Headmaster to Harry and back.

"Welcome Harry," Professor Dumbledore said raising his head slightly. "Come closer."

Harry didn't know why he hadn't already done that and quickly made up the distance to the man. Even though the man's body looked frail, his eyes still brightly twinkled and he said, "I assume you now understand."

Harry nodded and fought with everything to control the emotions. "But why? You shouldn't have done it."

"My dear boy," Dumbledore said putting his hand on top of Harry's. "I told you we were very similar. You would have done the exact same thing in my place." Harry didn't say anything; he couldn't put his feelings into worlds. "I hope I have not made you angry with me again."

Harry slightly smiled and shook his head. "I should have never been angry with you before. I didn't understand."

"But you do now."

Harry nodded and asked, "When?"

"As soon as we finish talking," the man said with a slight smile.

"Can you do that?" Harry asked sounding amazed.

"I have enough left to choose the time. I want it to be on my terms. Another way we are alike, I think," the Headmaster said.

"Thank you for everything sir," Harry said losing his fight with his emotions.

"You are most welcome. And thank you for allowing me to be a part of that and to provide what help I could."

Harry fidgeted and finally said, "Sir…well…I…umm…"

"That's quite all right Harry. I know," the man softly said.

"It's not all right," Harry said wiping his eyes. "I do… I love you," Harry said and then dropped his head onto the bed. "I'm going to miss you," he choked out before giving in and doing something he never had before. He openly cried.

The Headmaster let him cry without saying a word until Harry roughly wiped his eyes and looked up. "You don't know how much that means to me Harry," the old man said with his own tears streaming down. "There is nothing else I can ask for in my life." Just then Fawkes gave a trill. "Would you take care of Fawkes? I have the feeling he will join you but that is his choice."

"Of course sir," Harry said looking at the impressive bird.

After a few moments of silence the Headmaster said, "Now you understand why I said you'd always feel comfortable if you return to Hogwarts to teach." Harry nodded. "Don't do it on my account though. You deserve to be happy in whatever you choose." Harry knew he couldn't answer so he just nodded. "Well…" the old man started, "would you rather not be present?"

Tears started coming down Harry's face again but he got out, "I don't want to leave you sir."

The Headmaster gave a slight nod and said, "Do not be sad for me Harry. I am going on to a great adventure where my age will no longer matter. Please use the gifts you have been given well. Use them with discretion, I've told no one. Most importantly though, allow yourself to love and to be loved. You've seen how important that can be."

Harry smiled the best he could as the Headmaster lay back down. It was only a few seconds before he felt the man give his had one last squeeze before it went limp in his own hands. At that instant, Fawkes burst into flames. Lightly placing Professor Dumbledore's hand back on his body, Harry moved to the pile of ashes and moved them around so the naked, featherless body could have room to move.

When Professor McGonagall finally came in, she wasn't surprised to see the Headmaster had passed on. She was surprised to see Harry, stroking the baby Phoenix with tears still streaming down his face. The Headmaster had only told her he extended too much energy when he helped heal Harry, not that he had essentially transferred his magical energy to the young boy.

"Are you all right Mr…Harry," she softly asked through her own sadness.

Harry swallowed a few times and said, "Yes Professor. I'm just going to miss him." Something deep within Harry stirred at the same time. A feeling of freedom and limitless possibilities.

The End

NOTES:

I really appreciate all reviews. I do look at them and try to pay attention for the next time. Thanks.


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